"Keep Your Mouth Shut"

Odin watched the figure in black and red as it – he? – talked at a rapid pace. Thor was barely keeping up with him, and Odin chuckled as the stranger's wild gestures nearly hit Mjolnir. His hand would smart indeed were it to make contact. Eventually, Thor patted the diamond-eyed being on the shoulder, but his steps were dogged even as he returned to the Avengers' side. The king approached, and Thor's face lifted when he noticed.

"Father!" he bellowed. "Are you here to meet my friends?"

That was not Odin's reason for coming to Midgard, but it was not the time to reveal his true reason.

"Introduce us, my son," he said.

"Me first, me first!" the stranger said, waving his hand. Thor sighed visibly.

"This is Wade Wilson," he said. "He is also known as Deadpool. He is not an Avenger, however. I am not entirely certain why he is here. Not creating mischief, nor assisting us in any way."

"You needed the comic relief," Wade Wilson said. "I'm more than that, and there are other reasons for me being here, of course, but it'd be no fun to stay on one side all the time. Anyone who's evil through and through or perfectly good is just boring. Layers are fun. Especially if you can peel them off. In a non-creepy way," he added. All of this was spoken in one breath in approximately seven seconds, and a wicked idea came to Odin. He held up one hand, and Wade sensibly stopped talking.

"How would you like to see Asgard, Son of Wil?" he asked.

"…Awesome!"

Thor looked alarmed.

Loki sighed through his nose. Odin wished to obtain information from Loki, which he was unwilling to give. He owed nothing to Midgard, only to Frigga, who was no longer here. Let Thanos take the world, for all he cared. Let the end come, he had nothing left to live for. His mind and heart, even his soul, had been torn apart and then patched back together sloppily. He had nothing to live for, a soulmate he could never hope to find while he was trapped here, and no one visited. Odin had threatened to fetch Thor to him, a terrible prospect. If Thor began spouting that nonsense about brotherhood it would be even worse than anything about betrayal and so forth.

The clanging of guard uniforms, the murmur of Odin's voice, and the light steps of someone who was not Thor neared Loki's cell. He resisted the urge to peek out the window, preferring to make them come to him. He would not allow them the satisfaction of seeing his curiosity.

"Here it is," Odin said, coming into view. Loki glanced up from his book, sneered at the All-Father, and then took in the man with him. He wore a form-fitting outfit of red and black, and only his head was bare, although he was carrying a matching scrap of material which may have been a face mask. Considering the scars on his face, Loki had little doubt he would keep them covered. Imperfections were not appreciated in society, either in Asgard or on Midgard, from what he had observed.

"You still refuse to tell me what you know, my son?" Odin said. Loki bristled at the term of 'endearment', and turned his muzzled face away. The clamps on his lips hurt, but he pushed the pain back. It was nothing to what he'd felt when he heard about Frigga's death. "So be it. I have a companion for you. When you are ready to reveal what it is you are keeping silent, tap on the glass and I will have the gag removed. Am I understood, Loki?"

He nodded shortly. The man in red looked at Odin.

"Dude, if this is how you punish your kids, no wonder he went off the rails," he said. "I don't know how Thor turned out as good as he did, unless he was a suck-up. You're not giving this one much of a chance to make good are you? Hey, am I being locked up here for sassing you or whatever? Because I'm pretty sure I'd still have the rights to a lawyer from Earth. Do you have a telephone?"

"Loki, this is Wade, Son of Wil," Odin said. "He is of Midgard, and an acquaintance of Thor's. I hope you enjoy each other's company. I believe he is also called the Mercenary With a Mouth? It matters not that you cannot speak, Loki. The Son of Wil can more than make up for that."

Yes. Loki was beginning to see that as Odin departed and Wade continued to speak of requiring representation. When he wound down, he turned around and looked warily at Loki.

"Do not worry, Son of Wil," a guard said. "His magic has been suppressed, and he is chained to the bed."

"Sounds like the start of a good night to me," Wade said, grinning at the guard. Then he returned his attention to Loki, clearly assessing the risk, and then sank to the floor, crossing his legs, just outside of Loki's reach. "So, it's you and me, kid. Alone for however long. What'd you do? You know, aside from the obvious, which everyone knows about. But this seems like a special kind of bad, so it has to be something different, unless I heard wrong—"

Loki's eyes had swiftly widened when Wade began to speak to him. He ran to the window and pounded on the glass. Odin must have been close by, because he was there in seconds, frowning, while Wade continued to prattle on in the background. Loki did not need to hear any more; he knew the rest of the one-sided conversation by heart. He gestured to his mouth, and Odin glanced between them.

"You are ready to talk?" he said. Loki nodded frantically, and with a wave of his hand Odin removed the gag. Loki worked his jaw. "I did not expect this to work so soon."

"Wait, did you bring me here to make him talk?" Wade said, after uttering the last word of Loki's mark.

"Yes," Odin said. "I thought perhaps your chatter may irritate him until he broke."

"It was not that," Loki whispered. He had not spoken for months, and he massaged his throat with his free hand.

"So why'd you crack?" Wade asked, cocking his head. Loki smiled half-heartedly.

"You are my soulmate," he said. Wade's mouth fell open, but no words came from it, which was a minor relief. Loki turned back to Odin, whose sole eye looked ready to fall out. "I will tell you what I remember. But you must grant protection to Wade. Please… your highness. Please do whatever you can to take care of him for me. When Thanos discovers that I have told you… he knows that I am unbonded, and I had not met my soulmate. However, he may have spies anywhere."

"I don't stay dead," Wade said. "And I'm kinda insane. Don't be so happy about having me as a soulmate. Then again, if you haven't heard of me it'd explain why you haven't run screaming from the cell… oh, wait." He looked over the chain and the glass wall. "Huh. Actually, you really wanna get out of here and you don't look all that happy. You've got me pegged. I wouldn't worry." He kicked his legs out and leaned back on his hands. "I'll be going back to Earth after this, so you don't ever have to see me again. Pity, `cause your body's smokin' hot, and I'd be so open to bonding. Oh well." He shrugged. Loki continued to stare at him. "Go tell it on the mountain. Maybe your Heidegger should send me straight back, King Odette?"

Loki looked at Odin, who cocked his head.

"It's better that way," Loki whispered, and Odin nodded.

"Very well, Son of Wil," he said. "Loki, stay on the bed while I take your… soulmate back to Heimdall."

Loki retreated, and stared at his hands while Wade was taken from the cell. Only when he was sure that they were gone did he look up. Seeing that he was alone again, he covered his face and breathed evenly.

Heimdall hid his surprise well as Odin returned with the man in black and red.

"Wade is to return to Midgard," Odin said. "Wherever he wishes to go."

"Wherever you picked me up from," Wade said. "Not so many big rune circle thingies that way. They're a bitch to clean up, I've heard."

"As you wish," Heimdall said.

"Dude, have you seen The Princess Bride? Not that I've seen it. I just know… you know, quotes, everyone knows quotes, and that's from… yeah. I guess that'd make me Buttercup. Or Grizzly Nick Fury here, if you were talking to him. So you're the Dread Pirate Heidelberg? But hang on, he's the one with an eye-patch. And a sword."

"I will send him back immediately, your highness," Heimdall said, and he ushered Wade away from Odin, who was rubbing the bridge of his nose.

"He really doesn't want me as a son-in-law, does he?" Wade remarked, and Heimdall nearly tripped over.

"Son-in-law?" he said.

"I'm Loki's soulmate," Wade said. "That's right, you weren't there for that. Yeah, I'm his soulmate. Poor guy. I don't know what she was thinking."

"Fate?"

"…Yeah, we'll go with that. I mean, you'd think that with you being an alien and all, you'd be able to break the fourth wall, too. But magic wouldn't be any fun if it was limitless, especially since the bad guys would win all the time. Unless the good guys had more magic…"

"Have a safe journey," Heimdall said, tapping his staff. Wade looked down at his feet, and then in a moment he was gone. Heimdall breathed a sigh of relief, and then chided himself for it. Fate would surely punish him, and whomever else had chosen to separate the two soulmates.

Wanda Maximoff was bent over Vision, pumping magic into him after Thanos had nearly ended his life. Wade had seen Loki at the other end of the battlefield as villains and superheroes alike had fought to keep Thanos from taking over the world. Justin Hammer, Crossbones, even General Ross had been there, lending a hand, along with New SHIELD, which pissed off the Avengers when they found out that Coulson was alive. Even Wade knew that. Seriously, wasn't Tony Stark an Avenger? How did they not know? Anyway, the point was that Thanos was dead, completely dead, and the Guardians of the Galaxy were preparing his corpse to take it back with him. Odin had already arrived and taken the Infinity Gauntlet away. Wade knew that Loki would've gone back with him, so he prepared to take off before Wolverine decided to test his immortality again. Or Sabretooth; that guy was around. All the mutants had taken exception to Thanos, but then the guy was pretty objectionable. Wade had taken particular pleasure in helping to take down the monster who'd tortured his soulmate.

Not his Loki. Barely his soulmate. But whatever. Wade didn't need anyone. He had the little yellow boxes and Bob. Soulmates need not apply.

"Son of Wil."

"Yo," he said, half-expecting to see Thor, and he raised his hand as he turned around. It fell to his side when he saw who was there. "Oh. Hey, uh, Prince Loki. Good fighting today. I'm guessing that everyone's going back to mortal enemies now, so I'm just gonna go before people start killing me again."

"I had not realised that you were in earnest about being effectively immortal," Loki said quietly. Wade shrugged.

"It sucks," he said. "I don't know why anyone would wanna live forever, especially considering some of the ways I've died. And because I look like this." He pulled off his mask and then unzipped his suit part of the way, showing how far the scars went. "Not the best look, is it?"

"I have seen worse," Loki said. "Even caused some of it myself."

"Well, you didn't cause this, so yay for you," Wade said, hiding himself again.

"Where is your soulmark?"

"Doesn't matter, since we're not gonna bond." He'd never admitted it to anyone, but being rejected by his soulmate hurt more than he thought it would. Being prepared for it, for decades, didn't lessen the disappointment. "I'll, uh, probably not see you around. So… bye?"

He turned to leave, but Loki grabbed his arm.

"I was protecting you," he said.

"I can take care of myself."

"You could not have taken on Thanos by yourself. You see how many people were required to save the world this time. Enemies united against a common threat. Perhaps your own immortality would not have been enough. I did not wish to lose you."

"We were barely in the same room for five minutes," Wade pointed out. He refused to hope that this was happening, that he might've been getting his soulmate… no.

"I have waited countless lifetimes to find my soulmate," Loki said, and he caught Wade's hands. Nope. Still wasn't happening. Couldn't be. "Then my… then the All-Father brought you to me. It was a terrible time for us to meet, Wade Wilson. Now that the danger of Thanos has passed, I am more confident in approaching you for a… for a second chance."

"You were protecting me?" Wade said in disbelief.

"It is my duty as a former prince, and as your soulmate."

"Huh. No one's ever thought I needed protecting. Even from myself."

"You are my soulmate," Loki said, repeating Wade's soulmark. "If you will have me, I will be happier than I thought possible."

"If I'll…" He blinked rapidly. "Yes."

"Yes?"

"Well, yeah. I… I wasn't expecting." He wasn't used to being nearly speechless. "You sure this isn't a dream? I'm gonna wake up any second and be disappointed."

"I can assure you that that is not the case," Loki said. "For were I dreaming, it would be a nightmare of you rejecting me. I did not anticipate…" He swallowed, and then smiled so widely that Wade's knees might've given out if they weren't so close. What did he have to recommend to a prince? One who could wield magic?

"You really want me?" he asked.

"More than anything, Wade, Son of Wil."

Wade was surprised. "Okay. Right. Where's the wedding gonna be?"

Ship requested by Mira SeverusSirius Black-Snape. I thought of Loki being gagged and Wade being used to torture him by chattering away, only Loki recognising the words and wanting to be able to talk to his soulmate ASAP. Then the Thanos thing happened, and I figured that Loki would be trying to protect Wade. My mind goes to strange places. Have you noticed?

Good news: new laptop! Still writing on the old one until I can put Office onto my new baby. It's a Satellite, so I've named it Galileo.

Please review, peeps!