Sleeping is Giving In / The Avengers

[teh_helenables]

Title: Sleeping is Giving In
Rating: PG
Fandom: The Avengers
Prompt: Requested by acoffeeshop, who asked for Loki wakes up beside Steve, who is in the midst of a nightmare. at the request page. (Of course, as is custom, this story took a life of its own. 0__0)
Summary: Not even Steve can love someone indefinitely without being loved in return. (Title from

Comments

[acoffeeshop]

I love everything about this.

The imagery is gorgeous, the characterization is brilliant, and the intimacy of the whole thing is just so lovely. I love the way Loki's internal conflict is laid out -- subtle, but persistent, and much like the pace of the story itself. It's steady, but there's a driving force behind it that keeps the reader guessing, and near the end of it, I couldn't read fast enough. I love the little things -- the mention of Steve's messy hair, and how Natasha is completely unfazed by Loki. I love how clearly we get to see Steve through Loki's eyes, get to see his inner conflict as well, and his loneliness just about broke my heart, as did Loki's fear of a rebuff, of being turned away.

Both of them tugged at my emotions in different ways: Loki, with his increasing notice of the fact that Steve has gotten used to Loki leaving him, and Steve, with the resigned way he keeps expecting Loki to leave, and yet doesn't seem to give up hope that he'll stay. It's a gorgeous dynamic and sets the tone for the whole story with a quiet, beautiful sadness. Even during moments that made me laugh out loud, ("'I might,' Loki points out dryly" and "Steve rolls over, stealing half the blankets"), I couldn't shake it off. Not until the very end, when both of their uncertainties melt away, and then, y'know, the perfect happy ending.

You took the prompt I asked for and turned it into something amazing. Thank you so much!