MCU Holiday Challenge

Lightning streaked across the sky as the rain pelted everything in sight. Loki and Sylvie had been there to deal with another Kang Variant when a massive storm broke out. They took off through a dense forest, hoping that the tyrant's armies would be unwilling to search for them inside.

"You know, off all the worlds we've been to, you'd think it wouldn't be raining on at least one of them!"

"Oh shut up, Loki, it's not like you're going to die from a little water!"

"That you know of!"

Sylvie rolled her eyes and kept going. How she managed to give her heart away to such a drama queen was beyond her understanding.

***

"Look! A cabin!"

Sylvie squinted her eyes to see what Loki was pointing at. There, amidst the torrential downpour, was a derelict looking house sitting in the middle of a clearing. They ran towards it as fast as they could. Loki kicked open the door and waited for Sylvie to catch up.

"Go ahead inside! I'm going to put a barrier up around the area!"

"Alright, be careful!"

He ran in the shelter and she turned her attention to the storm. Green mist shot out of her hands and spread out to form a magical dome around them that would keep out their enemies. Once she was certain it was secure, she ran inside and shut the cabin door. As she entered the main room, Sylvie noticed that Loki had already gotten the fireplace going, and was currently peeling off his wet clothes to lay in front of it.

She was going to sneak up and tease him, but stopped the minute he removed his shirt. An audible gasp escaped her at the sight of horrific marks all over his back.

Sylvie was no stranger to scars. One can't go on the run for thousands of years and not expect to gain a few. But Loki's skin was so covered that it was impossible to see anything else. Deep, purple gouges went all the way down his spine and something resembling claw marks scraped across his shoulders. It was clear from some of the discoloration that his spine had been broken and rehealed several times.

"Rather hideous,isn't it?"

Sylvie looked up from abused flesh to see Loki looking back at her with a sad smile.

"What happened to you?"

"The Chitauri that found me when I fell in the void were....not the most gracious of hosts."

He turned back to the fire, and Sylvie took that as her cue to approach. She quietly vanished her clothes off and sent them over to lay in front of the fire. She sat down behind him and leaned against his ruined back as she wrapped her arms around his waist. He put a hand over hers, and they sat together in silence for a long time before either one spoke again.

It was Loki that finally broke the quiet.

"I never planned it, you know, any of it. I just wanted to show Thor he wasn't ready and convince him to grow up. Then I find out I'm a stolen relic from a race I was taught to fear, and from there the dominos kept falling. Before I knew it, Thor and I are hanging off the bridge, and Óðins giving me that look of disappointment and I just, let go, hoping it would end the pain."

"But it didn't stop there, did it?"

"Oh no, it had only just begun. My captors made sure that I was beaten and broken to the point that I'd do anything to make it stop....even make a deal with a Titan."

"Oh Loki," Sylvie murmured before laying a gentle kiss on his shoulder," I'm so sorry....does it hurt at all?"

"Constantly."

"Why haven't you tried to heal it?"

"I can't," Loki said with a barely concealed shudder at the feeling of her skin against his," one of Thanos's children, a malicious creature known as Ebony Maw, used a dark magic whose power far exceeded my own to ensure it would never completely heal. I suppose it was a way of maintaining my compliance. Even after breaking free of them,I've not been able to cure it."

Sylvie nuzzled against him, mind racing as she tried to think of something that could ease her lover's pain. Her thoughts kept circling back to the fight with Alioth, and the amount of power they had when they worked together.

Suddenly, she had an idea.

"Loki.. I have a thought...something that might be able to help, if you're willing to try."

"Anything."

"Alright then, I'm going to need you to summon some more of those blankets you have."

*

Loki was able to conjure several blankets and a few pillows from his pocket dimension. Once she had everything arranged to her liking, Sylvie sat in the middle of the pile with her legs crossed. She gestured for him to lay back down and put his head in her lap. She laid one hand on the disfigured skin and laced her fingers through his with the other.

"I don't know how well this is going to work, but if we can defeat Alioth together then maybe we can rid you of this bastard's magic the same way."

"I trust you, my love. If you say this might help, it will."

Sylvie leaned down and kissed his forehead, then took a deep breath and began concentrating on her powers. A green glow began to spread from her palms and raced across his body tangling with the dark energy inside of the scars.

Maw's power was definitely strong.She could feel it twisting and writhing as it fought against her enchantment. Loki started shaking and whimpering the more the energies clashed. Sylvie was about to stop, but a squeeze on her fingers encouraged her to keep going.

Eventually, an angry black mist rose up out of his body. She directed it towards the fireplace, then had to quickly cover them both with a shield when the flames shot out of the fireplace and made a horrible shrieking sound before returning to normal.

"What the bloody hell was that?!"

"No wonder the spell was so powerful....Maw infused part of his own soul into it."

"Good riddance then," Sylvie muttered while combing her fingers through his hair," How are you feeling?"

"Better.....the pain is finally gone."

"You look better too."

The bruising was all but gone, leaving behind pale white scars in its place. Places that had not healed properly were correcting themselves, and overall things looked much healthier than they had a earlier. It would never look perfect, but at least he wasn't hurting anymore, and for that Sylvie was grateful.

She noticed Loki was starting to pass out from exhaustion, so she rearranged herself so she could lay down and hold him against her chest.

"Get some rest,we'll head out tomorrow morning."

"Alright,goodnight Sylvie....and thank you."

He fell asleep as Sylvie continued to watch over him the rest of the night. She vowed that no more shadows, past or present, would ever hurt Loki again while she was around, because he'd given her a strength she never knew she'd possessed.

The strength to love.