Heartstrings

Helicarrier – Isolation Bay 3

The door hissed shut behind her with a sound that made her stomach twist.

The room was clean, cold, and padded in that way that said: "You're not a prisoner, but we don't trust you."

Y/N sat in the middle of the bed with her knees tucked under her, her arm bandaged from the blast. The IV line in her other hand pumped a sedative she didn't ask for.

She stared at the wall.

Not crying.

Not thinking.

Just... waiting.

They hadn't interrogated her yet. Not officially. SHIELD wasn't sure what to classify her as: victim? traitor? asset?

Tony had been in to see her once. Said her name. Just once.

Then he walked out.

That was two hours ago.

She still hadn't looked away from the wall.

Observation Room – Adjacent to Isolation Bay 3

Tony stood with Steve, Bruce, and Natasha, arms crossed over his chest. The feed showed Y/N's vitals. Steady. Calm. Almost too calm.

"She hasn't spoken to anyone," Bruce said. "Heart rate's steady. No signs of aggression. No elevated stress."

"She's not resisting," Natasha said. "Which means she's either given up or she's planning something."

Tony shook his head. "She's not planning anything. She's exhausted."

Steve leaned against the wall. "So what do we do?"

"Talk to her," Bruce said. "Give her a voice again. Not a cell."

"She chose Loki," Natasha said.

"She chose herself," Tony snapped.

The room fell quiet.

Then Steve said, "Where is he?"

Detainment Sector – Maximum Security Cell A

Loki sat in a SHIELD-modified glass prison. The room around him was sterile, suspended in midair on a lower level of the Helicarrier. This time, there were no illusions. No tricks.

But he didn't look like a prisoner.

He sat with perfect posture on the edge of the bed, hands folded, eyes closed, breathing slow.

Waiting.

When the door opened, he opened his eyes.

Natasha entered.

"I figured they'd send you," he said. "The quiet blade."

"You don't get to play games this time."

"Oh, but I do," he said, standing.

"You're in a box."

"Yes," he said, stepping to the glass. "But she isn't."

Natasha's jaw clenched.

"What did you do to her?"

"I listened to her."

"You twisted her."

"I told her the truth."

"She stood between you and her father."

"She stood for herself. That frightens you, doesn't it?"

Natasha stepped closer to the glass. "She's waking up now. And when she does, she'll realize what you did."

Loki smiled faintly. "You think she hasn't already?"

Natasha's eyes narrowed. "Whatever hold you had on her — it's broken."

"Wrong again."

He leaned in just slightly, voice soft now.

"You're not afraid I broke her. You're afraid I helped her see she was already broken — and now she's not yours anymore."

Natasha didn't respond.

Because that was too close to the truth.

Isolation Bay 3 – Later

The room was dim now.

Someone had turned down the lights, maybe hoping it would calm her.

It didn't.

Y/N sat at the table, alone. The food tray hadn't been touched. Her hands were folded neatly on the surface, knuckles pale.

Then the door hissed again.

Tony entered, unarmored.

He looked tired. Older. Like he hadn't shaved in two days.

He didn't speak at first.

Just sat across from her.

Y/N didn't move.

"Do you hate me?" he asked.

She blinked slowly. "Is that why you came?"

"No."

"Then why?"

He hesitated. "I don't know anymore."

She looked at him, finally. "You were supposed to protect me."

"I did."

"No," she said. "You protected the world. You protected the team. You protected the tech. I was always third or fourth or fiftieth on the list."

Tony flinched like she'd slapped him.

"That's not true."

"Name the last time we had dinner and you didn't check your lab feed twice."

"Y/N—"

"Name the last time you said 'I'm proud of you' without an asterisk."

He couldn't.

Because he hadn't.

Not in a long time.

She leaned forward now.

"When Loki found me, I was ready to kill him. I hated him. But then he started asking questions no one else ever asked. He saw things in me no one else wanted to. Not even you."

"You think that makes him good?"

"No. It makes him real."

Tony looked away. "You could've died."

"I almost did."

He swallowed hard. "Why didn't you come home?"

"Because I didn't know where that was."

He nodded slowly.

Then stood.

"I'm sorry," he said.

She didn't say it back.

Because she didn't believe him yet.

Detainment Sector – Later That Night

Loki sat cross-legged on the floor, eyes closed.

But he opened them when the door shifted again.

This time, it wasn't a guard.

It was her.

Y/N stepped into the corridor outside the cell. No guards. No weapons. Just her.

He stood immediately.

She didn't speak.

He tilted his head. "So. You've returned."

"I wanted to see for myself."

"See what?"

"If you were still in my head."

He smiled faintly. "And?"

She stepped closer. "You are."

That admission was a knife.

But not a threat.

He moved to the glass. "What do you feel?"

She looked at him.

"Angry," she said. "Confused. Awake."

"I didn't want to take you," he said. "Not at first. You were a tactical move. But then you started asking questions. Building your own answers. I didn't make you who you are now. I just stopped getting in the way."

She exhaled shakily.

"I don't know what side I'm on anymore."

"You're not on a side," he said. "You're becoming your own."

She stared at him.

Not the villain.

Not the god.

Just a man in a box.

And for the first time, she wondered what would happen if she let him out.

SHIELD Control Room – Simultaneously

Natasha watched the feed from the upper deck.

Steve stood beside her.

"She's with him again," he said.

"I know."

"You gonna stop her?"

Natasha hesitated.

"No," she said. "Not yet."

"Why?"

"Because she's not breaking him," she said. "She's breaking herself — and we need to know what she chooses next."

Isolation Bay 3 – Hours Later

Y/N lay awake on the cot, staring at the ceiling.

She could still feel the pulse of Loki's magic beneath her skin — not because it controlled her, but because it had shown her something.

Her own hunger.

Her own capacity.

Her own rage.

She didn't know if she wanted to go back to the person she was before.

She wasn't sure she could.

And somewhere deep inside, beneath all the chaos, the heartbreak, the betrayal —

She didn't want to.