Note: I haven't seen the latest episode yet, so PLEASE no spoilers!

"Muzzle Me Not"

It was easy to judge that a situation was truly awful based on how soon Director Coulson slumped over and rested his forehead on the desk. Just a minute in was impressive. But fifteen seconds into the meeting? Unheard of, until now.

Skye whistled loudly, and everyone – SHIELD and Avengers alike – quickly shut up, although Coulson's head stayed down.

"It's not the first time we've dealt with brainwashing and mind-altering," he told the table.

"Sir, could you speak up?" Hunter called from the other end of the table. Coulson sat up properly and narrowed his eyes.

"Out of everyone here, I'm one of the few who has good cause to hate and mistrust him," he said. "But it would be hypocritical to ask people to trust me after being injected with alien blood and having my memories wiped, and not extend the same courtesy to Loki."

"He killed you," May said.

"Really?" Coulson said dryly. "I forgot. That explains the itch in my back when I talk to him." He sighed. "Look, he wasn't in his right mind and he was being controlled. True, I never killed any of the good guys directly, but I still made errors in judgement which led to trusted agents ending up dead. No one's blaming Barton for anything he did under Loki's control."

"Except Clint," Romanov muttered. Barton stuck his tongue out at her, and Coulson's head ended up on the desk again.

"Children," he said. "I have children working for me. I thought child labour was illegal? It's only a matter of time before I'm arrested. Ugh."

Skye patted his shoulder. "Slow breaths, DC."

"I'll slow breath you."

"…That doesn't make any sense. And sounds kinda creepy."

Coulson glared at her, and Fitz snorted softly in amusement. He cleared his throat when the glare was turned on him.

"Sorry, sir," he said. "How long are we supposed to be keeping, uh… Prince Loki in…"

"Custody."

"Yes, sir."

"As long as necessary."

"The All-Father was impressed with how Loki ran Asgard during his Odin-Sleep," Thor rumbled. "After the palace healers were granted the opportunity to study Loki, they found deeply-cast mind control spells, and traced the origins back to Thanos. Now Father is studying any changes Loki made to the court, in case they were under Thanos's orders. He does not necessarily believe Midgard to be a safer place for Loki, but…"

"But?" May prompted.

"Sif told us that you succeeded in fixing Lorelei's muzzle," he said. "Dwarves stormed the court of Asgard after Loki's disguise was discovered, and they gagged him before we could stop it. It is a muzzle of their own devising, and we cannot break it. Not without risking harm to Loki."

"And we don't want to harm Loki… why?" Stark said.

"He is my brother, and deserves a fair trial. He is not free of sin, of course; however, he must have the opportunity to redeem himself for the acts performed under his own volition. He cannot make amends in Asgard – or indeed anywhere – until he can speak once more, and the Silver Tongue is no longer silenced."

"Fitz was the one who repaired Lorelei's gag," Coulson said. Fitz shrank back in his chair when all eyes swivelled to him.

"Y-yes, but my hands—"

"If you could free my brother from his restraints without causing him harm, we would be forever in your debt," Thor said earnestly. "The Man of Iron aggravates Loki—"

"It's mutual, trust me," Stark said. "And I'm not helping the son of a bitch who broke my tower."

"Well…" Fitz swallowed as he trailed off. "I suppose if it doesn't need to be repaired, only removed, then that will be alright. Should be easy enough. Just dismantling it." He nodded, twisting his fingers together, and hoped he was exuding enough confidence.

Leo Fitz knew what it was like to be trapped in your own head, and unable to communicate with others. Not that he was completely sympathetic; Ward had pushed him to that, Fitz wasn't the one pushing others. And this was possibly a very foolish idea which could get him killed.

He knocked at the door of Vault D, and May let him in. He paused when he saw Loki, mouth bound by some kind of metal contraption, perched in the middle of the bed and staring straight ahead.

"I brought some tools and a first aid kit," Fitz told May. "Until I get a closer look at the device, I won't be able to tell how much it's hurting him, how it's attached to his head…"

"Do what you have to," she said. "I'll be here."

Fitz nodded, and when the barrier was lowered he stepped forward, and then sat beside Loki, who didn't move a muscle. Fitz fiddled about in his toolkit until he found a pen light, and then shifted around so he was facing Loki.

"Come on, look at me, dove," he said. It was hard to move Loki's head around, but he managed it. "Let me have a look at you, eh? See what they've done." He switched on the torch and used it to examine the sides of the gag. It had been formed to fit Loki's face perfectly, clinging to those sharp cheekbones and the jaw like… like spandex. Wait, no, not spandex. Something else clingy. Tight jeans?

Bad Leo. This is the enemy.

Loki raised his eyebrows, and Fitz cleared his throat when those green eyes raked over him with a piercing gaze. He prodded around the edges of the gag.

"Just stop me if I hurt you, alright, Loki?" he asked. Loki inclined his head, and Fitz tugged, trying to pull the muzzle away just far enough to see beneath, but the metal wouldn't leave. It seemed fused to the skin. How painful must it have been? Fitz chewed his lower lip as he turned his attention to the vertical bars over Loki's lips, and tried to pry at them. Loki gripped Fitz's wrist, painfully tight, and the reason was clear when blood began to seep from the… they weren't bars. It was some kind of metallic thread holding the lips closed. Someone had obviously wiped away the original blood stains. He whirled around and strode up to the barrier.

"D'yeh know what those bastards did?" he hissed at May. "They sewed his mouth closed, and then they… they melted the mask onto Loki's skin. I can't remove any of it without hurting him. Our best hope is that it can be removed by magic. Can he use his powers?"

"Not here, and not on himself," May said.

"No clues at all?"

"I can ask Thor."

"Yes. Please do that." He looked back over his shoulder at Loki, who was still watching him unblinkingly. "Hurry. I'll try to cut the threads off while you're gone, but it's not much use if he can't move his jaw."

May nodded, and left the vault. Fitz squatted down by the medical kit and fished out scissors and padding. Gods – or aliens – were unlikely to get a serious infection, but he took out rubbing alcohol and surgical gloves as well. This was more Simmons's forte, but he could manage.

"I'll try not to hurt you," he said. "If these don't work, I'll try something else."

The wires at the corners of Loki's mouth weren't too bad, but the thicker cords were harder. Wire cutters solved the problem, though, and he kept wiping away the blood dripping from Loki's wounds.

"There now," he said when he pulled out the final metal thread. "I'll need to get more tissues, but here are the last of them. I'll see what's keeping the others. Unless there's something you can tell me?" Loki worked his jaw but couldn't move it, and shook his head. "Alright. I won't be long, emerald eyes."

Fitz trotted up the steps, and his shoulders slumped when he saw Thor's forlorn expression.

"There is no point in your continuing," he said. "My brother cannot be saved."

"W-what do you mean?"

"The fiends who muzzled him left a missive," Thor continued, holding up a note. "It says that only Loki's soulmate can save him."

"But I—"

"Not even the threads over his mouth can be removed by anyone other than his soulmate."

"…Can I see?" Thor held up the note, but it definitely wasn't in English. "Oh. But you said…" He frowned, and Thor cocked his head.

"We must not give my brother false hope," he said. "Loki was not born with a soulmark, nor has he gained one since we were children. Unless, I suppose, he neglected to tell me. Perhaps if we could find—"

"How is his soulmate supposed to help where I can't?" Fitz asked.

"Through touch," Thor said.

"Yes, but how? The metal is melded to his skin."

"That is but half the problem," Thor said. "His lips… have been sown."

"But you don't need his soulmate for that," Fitz said. "Just wire cutters."

"Have you tried cutting those threads?" Thor said, raising his voice. "It is impossible!"

"No, it…" Fitz's breath caught in his chest and his words faltered. Words. He turned on his heel and ran back downstairs, into the vault, and skidded to a stop in front of Loki, who cocked his head. "Please forgive me, but I have to try."

Then he cupped Loki's face, tilted it up, and pressed their lips together. A shiver raced through his bones, and he nuzzled Loki's nose with his, before moving his kisses elsewhere, around the mouth of the gag and along the sides.

Large hands grabbed hold of his waist, and Fitz steadied himself with one hand on Loki's shoulder and the other peeling the golden mask away from pale skin. He peppered kisses over the top and on the underside, soothing the pink marks left behind. It took a long time, working his way from one end to the other, until the horrible mask was finally tossed aside.

Then he hesitated. Because he'd just broken a spell and discovered that he was Loki's soulmate at the same time. The strange writing on his leg finally made sense. No wonder he'd never seen it anywhere else; it was an otherworldly script.

Still staring at Loki, Fitz shook himself out of his daze and packed away his tools and first aid kit. Well aware of the hand on his knee, he shoved the equipment aside and sat up again, waiting for Loki to say something.

"Thank you," Loki finally whispered. "You are a gifted engineer."

"Engineering had nothing to do with it," Fitz said. "Uh… but you're welcome."

Loki chuckled, and cupped the back of Fitz's neck. "You called me 'dove', and 'emerald eyes'."

"…Uh…"

"I liked it."

"O-oh?"

"Mmm-hmm." Loki leaned forward. "Allow me to thank you?"

"You already have." Loki's eyes narrowed minutely, and Fitz winced, mentally berating himself. "I see. You can… yeah, you can thank me like that, i-if you want."

"I do want, my soulmate," Loki said.

Fitz met him halfway there, nearly falling over when Loki wound his arms around Fitz's back and pulled him down to lie on the bed, side by side. Loki rolled over on top of him, plastering himself against Fitz. The taste of blood in his mouth was ever-present, but not as interesting as Loki's tongue, hot and curious and slippery. He whimpered as Loki rocked down against him, growling.

"Loki!"

Fitz's soulmate grumbled unintelligibly as he raised his head and scowled at Thor.

"Do you mind?" he said. "I am busy with my soulmate."

"He… he is—"

"I removed his… his gag thing," Fitz said, gesturing in its general direction. "I've never been able to read my soulmark—"

"You said my words," Loki said quickly. "They will be in your hand."

Fitz tried not to stare as Loki removed his shirt, but he knew his mouth was watering as he took in the porcelain skin.

"Gorgeous," he murmured, reaching out. But he jerked his hand back before he could touch, blushing. Loki laughed again.

"See?" he said, twisting at his waist. Fitz leaned in, and his breath caught.

"Yeah, that's my writing," he said. He smiled up at Loki, and then pounced.

"I'm going to lose my engineer, aren't I?" Phil said, resting his head against the back of his office chair. "When Loki returns to Asgard, of course Fitz will go with him. And Simmons will probably want to go, too. What do I do?" He frowned at May when she didn't reply. "This is one of those times I need an opinion from you, an oral one. I'm too distracted to be able to interpret your facial dialogue."

"Do you need me here?" she asked.

"Yes. Or I'd be talking to myself."

"Maybe Loki will stay?"

"I… I don't know how I'd feel about that. Every time I look at him I remember being stabbed in the back."

She arched an eyebrow. "You were the one encouraging forgiveness."

"Because I thought they'd all leave as soon as we'd done everything we could to help," Phil admitted. "Either I'm going to lose at least one agent, or I'll gain someone who gives me chills up the spine. And you know how some of the others feel about gifted people. Loki isn't going to stay if he has to go onto the asset index, and neither will Fitz."

"What do you suggest?"

"Either I scrap the asset index – or at least insist that Loki stays off it – and leave, or I let them go where they want to."

"Hmm."

"…Or I try to get over how Loki makes me feel. But I think they're more likely to return to Asgard than stay here."

"If you need a new engineer, there's Stark," May said.

Phil gave her a withering look. "Yeah-no."

No idea how to resolve it. That's the problem with writing Loki and Phil after The Avengers, especially taking into consideration the ghastly business with TAHITI. Even when they're not paired together, they're still hard to write.

I had a seizure on Monday, which has thrown me for a loop. It's made writing difficult for me, because it rattled my brain a bit, so I don't know when I'll get back to regular-ish writing. I've started three new chapters and haven't gotten past the first page with them because of it. Sigh.

Pairing requested by Mira SeverusSirius Black-Snape.

Please review!