a/n: Sorry for the wait, you guys. I lost inspiration for this story for a while, but it's coming back now. Please enjoy! (I don't own Marvel)
Loki and Karnilla- One More Night by Maroon 5, Troublemaker by Olly Murs
Natasha- Thank you for reviewing! I'm glad you're still liking it. I'll be honest, I did consider doing something with Loki's hair at first, but I just love his hair the way it is, and I couldn't think what I wanted him to do with it, other than wash it, maybe. Anyways, sorry for the wait and please enjoy!
Whatthebuckaduck- Thank you so much! Sorry for the wait and please enjoy!
Guest- Here is your update! Please enjoy and sorry for the wait.
Guest (number two)- Don't worry, I love chocolate. Sorry for the wait and please enjoy!
Lucida- Thanks for your review! Glad you like it. I did have an idea for a Harry Potter fanfic at one point and I published the first chapter, but I realized, I had no idea where I wanted to go with it. So I've deleted it until I can develop it more. Sorry for the wait and please enjoy!
Loki heavily debated going to see Thor. He had been in that room once before. It was disgusting. But maybe Thor would be more open to the idea then he previously thought. He was listening to Karnilla tell the story of a time on Midgard a long time ago. The group in front of them laughed when she finished dramatically telling the tale. She was still really good at this. The group dispersed and Loki grabbed two drinks. He handed one to her and took a sip from the other. "I'm going to go see my brother." Loki informed his friend. Karnilla nearly choked on her own drink in surprise at her friends comment.
"You what?" She asked, to clarify his intentions.
"I'm going to see my brother." Loki repeated. He smiled at the look of confusion on his friend's face. It wasn't all that often that she was confused. It was even more rare for her to show her confusion. "Is it really that surprising?" Loki asked.
"A little." Karnilla tried to brush off her shock with a shrug. "Do you really think you'll be able to convince him to stay? And even if you could, the Grandmaster would never allow it."
Loki knew that was true. The Grandmaster was not going to let him go. But he may be able to convince him to stay. He tried not to admit it (especially not to Karnilla, she wouldn't stop taunting him for weeks) but he did care for his brother. And it's not as if they had any conceivable chance of defeating Hela. Maybe he could talk some sense into his brother. "You're right. I just want to warn him about the Grandmaster's champion." He said. The excuse was lame, even in his own mind and Karnilla thought so too.
She snickered. "You really are going soft." She whispered in his ear. Still playing their little game. Loki smirked at her tone. She still had no idea how to lie to him. It was dangerous though, because he had no idea how to lie to her.
"Not quiet as soft as you." He whispered back to her before walking away. It was true. Ever since that day they left Jotunheim, she had changed dramatically. She was no longer smoldering with anger. She wasn't looking for chances to kill. He couldn't think why she had changed so much in so little a time.
He made his way to the place where the Grandmaster put his contenders. He had decided not to go in and he sent an illusion of himself to go meet his brother. Thor was kneeling down, praying to Valhalla to except Odin's spirit there. Loki finished the prayer with him. Thor turned to see who it was. When he did see Loki, he slumped back against the wall. Loki made an attempt at a smile. Thor tossed a pebble at his brother. Loki gave a small chuckle. "You didn't think I'd really come to see you? I mean, this place is disgusting." Thor ignored him and tossed another pebble at him. "Does this mean you don't want my help? I couldn't jeopardize my position with the Grandmaster. It took me time to gain his trust. He's a lunatic but he's smart. What I came to say is, I can get you out of here. You can be with me at the Grandmaster's side. And who knows? Maybe in time, an accident befalls the Grandmaster then..." He gestured to himself, then to Thor and gave the thumbs up. Thor threw another rock at his brother. Loki dropped his arms and gave him a look. "Have I done something wrong?" He asked.
Thor smiled wryly, humorlessly. "You took the throne of Asgard, you hid father on earth and now he's dead, and you've abandoned me. Is that enough or would you like me to go past the last two days?" His smile had disappeared. Loki knew he was right. There was no point in denying it. But, believe it or not, he did care. He never meant for Odin to die.
The comments also did little to improve Loki's mood. He felt a burst of irritation at Thor. "You know I've placed a huge wager against you tomorrow. Don't let me down." Loki could hear a rock clang against the wall as he left the room.
When he returned, Karnilla was waiting for him. "How'd your little chat go?" She hummed to him, leaning against the wall, examining a nail. She looked very relaxed but aware and on edge at the same time. "You're welcome, by the way. I distracted him when you disappeared." She jerked her head in the direction of the Grandmaster.
"Oh, as brilliant as they ever go." Loki replied dryly. Karnilla smiled to herself. The pair were silent for a while, both leaning against the wall. Neither spoke and no one approached them. They watched the party goers laugh and talk loudly around them. They placed wagers and took bets on the upcoming contest. It was the only bit of entertainment they really had here on Sakaar.
Neither Karnilla nor Loki had seen the Grandmaster's champion. They had heard the rumors, though. He was enormous in size and astonishing in nature. He was savage and ruthless and he showed no mercy. He hardly ever fought because no one was brave enough to challenge him.
Loki had, however, seen a few other fights. The warm up fights. They were entertaining enough, he supposed. It wasn't really something he particularly enjoyed. Neither did Karnilla. Their entertainment was more like ridiculous plays about how glorious their battle on Jotunheim had been.
The fight wasn't until tonight so the two old friends decided to escape the Grandmaster's celebrations and go for a walk. Just like when they were younger. They walked in silence for the most part. They watched out the windows of the halls, overlooking the trash heap that was Sakaar. Someday, if things played out the way they wanted them to, they would be in charge of this trash heap. It was just like them, to be on top of whatever pile they were handed.
Their walk ended at the end of the hall and at Loki's room. They communicated silently and agreed to go in his room. Loki closed the door behind them while Karnilla sat on the bed and lay back, her eyes seemingly closed. Loki snuck a glance at his old friend. It was remarkable how much she had changed in so short a time. He could remember a young girl who was so determined to be without emotion and ironically, it was all that drove her. She killed out of anger, hatred, jealousy, and determination. Now, however, she has softened. They liked to tease each other about it but both really had gone soft. She was more willing to let herself feel emotion. She no longer took out her anger by killing people or things. Loki could remember being like that too. But he had also changed.
KarnillaKarnilla caught Loki watching her. She sat up and shot him a smirk. Loki rolled his eyes at her and sat next to her on his bed. "Enjoying the view?" She joked and teased.
"Stop." Loki scoffed, which only made her grin widen. In a way, this game they played was aggravating to Loki. He loved it and yet he hated it. All they did was joke about these emotions. Loki hated himself for it, but he knew he couldn't deny it. Not anymore. He cared for Karnilla and he was slowly falling for her. And that was why this game of theirs was so frustrating. It made light of these emotions he felt, but all it was to her was a joke. A chance to tease her old friend. He knew that Karnilla didn't feel the same way about him, so it was useless to talk about it. It was better that he just let their game continue, to let her think that it was all a joke to him too.
Little did Loki know that Karnilla felt exactly the same way about their game. She was just as good as he was at hiding it. "As you wish, your highness. After all, who am I to talk like that to Loki, Prince of Asgard?" She continued to tease.
"Exactly. So cease your incessant talking." Loki said in a false annoyed tone.
"Fine. As you wish." Karnilla said. "Just pretend I'm not even here." She changed her shape to that of Thor. "Perhaps you'd prefer the company of your brother?"
"No, I really wouldn't." Loki said. He allowed himself a ghost of a smile. They were a little too similar some days.
"Of course you wouldn't. I'm a million times better than you b****** brother." Karnilla changed back to herself. "I mean, why wouldn't I be? I'm smarter, I'm better looking, I'm funnier-" Loki rolled his eyes at her rant and cut her off. He grabbed her face in his hands and kissed her gently. This kiss was different than the other kisses they had shared. It was more gentle and soft. Not hard a fierce like the others had been. It was better, in a way. This one was nicer, more full of actual feeling rather than teasing and lies. Karnilla was completely shocked by her friends actions. But not as shocked as Loki was by his own actions.
When he finally broke away, Loki gave a satisfied smirk at the look of shock on Karnilla's face. "I thought I told you to shut up." For the first time in a long time, Karnilla was at a loss for words. She couldn't think straight. All she wanted was for it to happen again, but it couldn't possibly be real. It was all one big joke they shared. But it had felt so real, so real. It was unfair, really. It was all she wanted and here it was, dangling in front of her like some big joke. That thought made her angry.
"Stop." She snapped at him and she stood up, to clear her head. "Why do you do that?" She stated furiously.
"Do what?" Loki asked. Her reaction shocked him, to say the least. He expected more teasing from her, he would wave her away and they would be back to normal. He couldn't imagine why she had gotten so angry.
"You know what. Pretend to... To actually care about me before you rip it away, like it's all some big game to you. You did the exact same thing when we were younger. Maybe this is all a joke to you but it never has been for me, OK? This was all I wanted ever since I was a kid and you just play with these feelings over and over and I hate it. I hate it with every fiber of my being but I push that aside. I pretend that I too think this is a game and I play it with you. But it's not a game to me. It never has been. And just when I think I'm getting past it, you go and do something like this and-" Loki cut her off again in the exact same way. This time, he kissed her harder than he had before. It wasn't nice and sweet like the last one. This one was full of all the emotions both friends were feeling. All that anger and jealousy. And love. It was hard for either of them to convene love in the way most people did, but they felt love just like any other human being.
Karnilla was the first to break away this time. Loki smiled at her again. "You really do talk too much. Did you think I did that just to get you to shut up. If I wanted you to shut up, there are many other ways I could've done so. But I did it this way on purpose." Loki sighed, unsure how to convey his feelings in words. "I don't quite know how to say it but, I have grown to care for you, Karnilla. I know what you're going to say. You'll say that I've gone soft and I probably have. But if I've gone soft, it's only because of you."
Again, Karnilla was at a loss for words. Just like Loki, she didn't know how to put her true feelings into words again. But maybe she didn't need to. There was an old Midgardian saying. She heard it more than a few times on her visits to Midgard. Actions speak louder than words, she heard the humans say. Karnilla never thought of the Midgardians as wise before, but she did now because it told her just what to do. She leaned back in and kissed him again to fill in the blanks.
K*K*K
The fight was about to begin. The big one. The one between Thor and this astonishingly savage champion on the Grandmaster's. Loki had a mixture of emotions towards this fight. He hated to admit it, but he cared for his brother. He didn't want to see him die but at the same time, he was still rather angry with Thor because reasons.
Karnilla was indifferent to whatever the results of the fight would be. If Thor win, fine. If not, fine. She could care less either way.
The two sorcerers made their way to the Grandmaster's private box where they would watch the fight. There were a lot of others there as well. That weird blue guy from a few weeks ago. The Grandmaster was not there quite yet as he had to go announce the contenders of today's fight. Both Karnilla and Loki grabbed a drink and took a sip as if in sync.
From the window, they could see a large hologram of the Grandmaster in the middle of the arena. Karnilla smiled. He did love to be dramatic. She wasn't his biggest fan but she was a little fond of him. "Alright. Who's excited?" The crowd below screamed assent. "I'm excited."
"It'll be a shame to get rid of him." Karnilla muttered to Loki. "I kinda like him."
"Who says we have to get rid of him?" Loki muttered back.
"Do you really think he'd ever let us anywhere close to his throne?" Karnilla asked rhetorically. "If we want to be at the top, he needs to be gone. And I don't think he'd be a fan of this." She gestured between the two of them.
"You're right." Loki admitted. The Grandmaster was a lunatic but he was a genius. He would hold on to his top spot for as long as he could before he would willingly give it to them.
"Have I ever been wrong?" Karnilla replied and Loki smiled at her comment.
"In this corner, we have a new contender." The Gransmaster continued with his commentary. "Watch out, he sparkles. The Lord of Thunder." There were boos from the crowd below them. Loki examined his brother closely. He had gotten his hair cut, he noticed. He looked strange without his hammer. Instead, he had some long weapon and a shield. He wore some armor in the neon colors of Sakaar.
"And in this corner," the crowd screamed, "you all know him. You love him. I love him. I give you, Your... Incredible... Hulk!" The Hulk smashed out of the wall, roaring loudly over the roars of the crowd.
Loki paled and started to walk away. "I have to get off this planet." He said before walking away. He could handle any of the other Avengers on their own but this one... He could still remember the feelings of being smashed through the floor of Stark's tower all that time ago. He hated himself for it, but the Hulk still frightened him.
As he walked away, he bumped right into the Grandmaster. "Hey. Where you going?" He asked, pushing him back into the room. Loki shrugged in reply and forced himself to sit back down on the couch. Karnilla sat nearby him, eyeing him closely. What was wrong with him? He wasn't that terrifying.
Thor, on the ground, looked very excited. "Yes!" He shouted. Karnilla looked to Loki for an explanation but none was forthcoming. "We know each other. He's a friend from work!" Thor shouted up to the Grandmaster.
Suddenly Karnilla understood. If this Hulk was Thor's friend, that meant he was from Midgard. He was part of the group that defeated Loki when he tried to take over Midgard. Karnilla smirked at all the thoughts running through her head. Loki was scared of the beast. Oh, she was never going to let him drop this.
"Loki, Loki's alive." Thor continued on the ground. "Loki! Look who it is!" Loki paled again and didn't say anything. Karnilla coughed to cover a laugh. That broke Loki out of his shock and he shot Karnilla a glare. She smiled innocently in reply. "Banner! Hey, Banner!" They heard Thor say.
"No Banner. Only Hulk." The Hulk said before charging at Thor. The Hulk knocked Thor into the wall of the arena. Karnilla's eyes widened in surprise. She knew Thor and she knew that he was strong. He was a warrior from Asgard. Yet, here he was, getting his a** handed to him by a Midgardian. If she ever saw Thor again, she would never let him live this down.
Loki was not shocked. He knew better than anyone just how strong the Hulk was. He knew it all to well. Thor crawled out of the hole and grabbed his weapon as the Hulk charged at him. Thor yanked it out just in time to knock the Hulk into the other side of the arena. Thor sprinted over there to talk to the Hulk. It seemed that he was trying to reason with the beast. Loki snorted at the ridiculousness of that idea. Good luck with that, brother, he thought to himself.
Thor reached a hand out to the Hulk. It looked like the Hulk was going to be reasoned with for a minute before he grabbed Thor's arm and slammed him into the ground back and forth, over and over. Loki stood up and cheered. "Yes! Yes! That's how it feels!" Both Karnilla and the Grandmaatwr gave him a look. "I'm just a huge fan." He explained.
Karnilla gave him a look that said she wanted an explanation. Loki replied by giving her a look that said later. She seemed satisfied with that so she leaned back in her seat. Loki sat back down as well. Thor and the Hulk sparred some more. Thor was on the ground and it looked like he was going to lose when suddenly he began to spark with lightning. The Hulk was about to smash him when Thor blasted him with lightning. The Hulk was knocked back into the wall.
The crowd was stunned into silence. Thor stood up, lightning surrounding his form. His eyes glowed electric blue like the lightning. This only served to make the Hulk more angry. He breathed heavily and charged at Thor again. Instead of backing up, Thor charged towards him as well. He summoned more lightning and blasted the Hulk again.
The crowd had changed their chant. At first, they had been chanting "Hulk! Hulk! Hulk!" Now, they were chanting, "Thunder! Thunder! Thunder!" This seemed to scare the Grandmaster. He was watching the fight with ever increasing nervousness. This also seemed to boost Thor's confidence. He was making his way over to the Hulk again when he fell to the ground. He seemed to be having a fit of some sort. Loki looked away from the fight to see the Grandmaster using those things they had placed in Thor's neck. He sighed because he knew the fight was over now. He wasn't sure how he felt about the results. If he was being honest, he kind of wanted Thor to win, mostly because he wasn't a fan of the beast.
The Hulk leapt into the air and placed a powerful fist right into Thor's face. He did so over and over. Hopefully, Thor had passed out, as it looked rather painful. The Grandmaster left the room again, to go end the fight. "Alright, that's enough for today. Much congratulations to the Hulk. Still undefeated." The crowd cheered for the Hulk, despite their change of opinion from earlier. The Hulk roared along with the crowd and disappeared through the door. "Oh, can someone take care of him?" The hologram gestured to Thor, as the audience began to disperse.
Both Loki and Karnilla stood up and made their way to the door. The Grandmaster saw them on their way out. "What did you think?" He asked them excitedly.
"Loved it." Karnilla answered with a smile. Loki nodded in agreement, though his expression was absent.
"Of course." The Grandmaster said. He was mildly surprised when they both started to walk away.
Karnilla turned around. "Oh, you'll be alright on your own tonight?" She said. Loki's head snapped back around to look at his friend in shock. What in the nine realms did she think she was doing? Did she want their cover to be blown?
The Grandmaster's face was expressionless for a minute before he smiled. "Of course." He repeated. He looked between the two and shot Loki a wink. He wasn't stupid. They attempted to hide it, but he knew they were closer than they let on. He didn't really care. In fact, he thought it interesting that she seemed to be growing a spine. Then he walked away, leaving them behind.
Karnilla breathed a sigh of relief. She really didn't think that was going to work. She smiled at the back of the Grandmaster. He too was more clever than she gave him credit for. "Are you trying to get us killed?" Loki asked as they walked away from the arena.
"No. I just needed a break." Karnilla answered with a shrug.
"So you risked everything for that?" Loki asked incredulously. He couldn't believe she had done that. If the Grandmaster had decided to not take so kindly to her comment, they would lose his trust.
"Would you calm down? I did it for you. You realize that, right?" Karnilla answered, sounded ng exasperated. Loki's brows furrowed in confusion.
"You... What?" Loki asked. What was that supposed to mean?
"Something about how loyalty is important in these relationship type things." Karnilla commented, trying to make it sound like she hadn't really thought about it. It reality, it was really all she had been thinking about since that moment in Loki's room. Were they in a relationship now? What did any of it mean? She had never been in a real relationship before and she wasn't quite sure how she was supposed to behave or what Loki's expectations were. "I mean, if you don't care then I can go back and tell him I changed my mind..."
"No." Loki replied quickly. "Sorry. I just don't really understand how this whole thing is supposed to go. I'm glad you told him no but don't you think that this could ruin our whole scheme here?" Loki suggested as kindly as he could manage.
"He's smarter than either of is gave him credit for. He already knows. He's known, I think, for a long time. We weren't really as careful as we should've been." Karnilla explained. "But enough of that. I'm more curious about that Hulk." Karnilla teased. Loki ignored her and kept walking. "What to scared to talk about it?"
Loki whirled around and glared at her. She just smiled at him. "If you must know, when I visited Midgard to try to take over it, he was part of the group that tried to stop me. I attempted to stand up to him and he did the exact same thing to me he just did to Thor." Karnilla did a terrible job hiding her laughs. "Stop." He replied, though he felt his own smile appearing. "I was traumatized. I'll never be the same again."
"Oh, the big bad Loki is scared of the beast." Karnilla sang. "Never, letting that go, by the way. This is my new favorite story about you."
"Yeah. Do you remember my favorite?" Loki shot back at her. Karnilla stopped laughing and she lost her smile. "Oh, you do. Such fun." He teased.
"Don't." Karnilla warned. But Loki was in no way intimidated by this.
"Vanaheim. A couple hundred of ago, I believe it was." Loki continued.
"Don't." Karnilla repeated. She was doing a terrible job of hiding her smile from Loki.
"Now, if I recall correctly, you got yourself in a spot of trouble with the prince of Vanaheim. And, correct me if I'm wrong, he had you kneeling, begging for mercy, and I had to come and save you..."
"Alright, I'm sorry. I'll never bring it up again." Karnilla surrendered quickly. "Just don't ever bring that up again. I don't know how you still remember that." She said.
"I remember all." Loki said in an all knowing tone.
"I hate you." Karnilla mumbled.
"Sure you do, darling." Loki smirked. "I'm sure you do."
