I stumbled as I landed, trying to regain my footing on the damp grass. There was a smell of ozone, and under that the smell of dew damp grass and drying autumn air. I heard a grunt beside me and turned towards the other person. Loki was standing back up, dusting off his knees. Once he was done he turned to me, a green glow washing over both of us as our Asgardian attire changed into something more suitable for our surroundings. Loki had opted for something less formal that usual. While we were in Italy, a suit would still look out of place in the Tuscan countryside. I looked down at myself to see an emerald green dress, light enough that I wouldn't over heat. Loki then held his arm out to me and together we walked up the hill to the little villa we owned.
It was late afternoon, the sun still high in the sky and the air scented with the smell of the vineyards that spread out across the land around us. We sat in the verandah, underneath the shade of vines that crawled across beams and hung heavy with eating grapes. On a small wooden table between us sat a plate. It was piled with fresh bread, cheese and local salami. There was also a small bowl of dark olives that had been picked form the trees around our property. The old lady who looked after the place had cured them and left a large jar in the pantry. Loki enjoyed the olives far more than I did.
A book was lying open on my lap; the blank white pages reflecting the sun back up at me. I had a pen held loosely between two of my fingers and the others held a glass of local red.
"What are you going to write about?" Loki asked, still looking out over the land.
"I'm not sure yet," I replied. "I could describe the way the sun is shining over the vines, or how it feels on my skin."
I fell silent, thinking about how I could record these things. Loki took a slow sip from his glass and looked at me.
"You're going to do a descriptive piece then? Rather different from your usual narratives," he commented.
I looked over at him, the way the wine had stained his lips darker and the slow relaxed smile he was giving me.
I hummed my agreement. "Why would I need fantasy when the reality is so beautiful? I could record all this, for midgardians who long to travel and Asgardians who will never get to experience Midgard. Or I could write how you look right now, for my own little collection."
The dark haired god snorted, bending to pick up the wine bottle to refill our glasses.
I chewed a piece of salami, thinking through how I would describe the vineyard, the colours and the sounds. I wanted it to be perfect, a snapshot of the moment.
When I was happy I put pen to paper and started writing. The afternoon disappeared in this manner, with words scrawled onto paper, food lazily consumed and wine slowly sipped.
It was early evening, around seven pm when we retired inside. We weren't terribly hungry and the few local places weren't likely to be open until later. Dinner in Italy was taken later in the evening, closer to 8pm.
"Do you have any preference of where we eat?" I asked Loki.
"The place we went to last time was nice," he mused, drying a wine glass.
"The one owned by nonna Emma?"
"Indeed. I rather enjoyed the fresh pasta."
I laughed at that, not quite sure how Loki kept as straight face.
"I thought you like gli zeppoli more? You did eat two servings last time."
Loki growled and threw a ball of green magic at me. It felt like a towel hitting my face and I decided that the comment had been worth it to see him also blush.
"Dear heart, your sweet tooth is so big I am surprised you aren't known as the god of desserts," I smiled.
"And I am surprised that it is I and not you that is known as the Sliver tongue," he countered.
I shrugged at him as we returned the dishes to their cupboards.
"I learnt from the best."
I leaned over to kiss him on the cheek. He returned the kiss softly before turning me towards the bedroom.
"Go and change for dinner. I know you; you will be cold if you wear that out after dark."
I smiled at him and nodded. Loki was right, he never felt the cold, most likely due to his Jotun blood, but it didn't take much for me to start shivering.
We had just finished our dinner, plates wiped clean with fresh bread, when Nonna Emma came bustling out to us with her little radio.
"You hear da news?" she said in an excited tone.
Loki and I looked at each other. We hadn't heard anything and neither of our Starkphones had missed calls or unread mesages.
"Listen. Da radio, it say someting big happening in New York." She was gesticulating to the little radio she had placed on our table.
Just then a news report crackled from the device.
'We are hearing reports of large silver robots converging on Central Station. The latest news says that on excess of 50 robots, all fitted with weaponry are holding hostages in the train station.'
I flipped my phone over as it buzzed, a message lighting up the screen. Cap had sent a short message. 'If on Earth, could use some help.'
"You have friends in New York, no?" Nonna Emma was saying to Loki.
"Yes, my brother lives there part time. His, work, has their headquarters in the city," Loki replied.
I finished replying to the text and spoke up.
"Speaking of your brother, a colleague of his messaged me."
Just then the radio gave an update.
'Report just in that Iron Man has been seen flying above Central Station. The rest of the Avengers are expected to arrive shortly. There are unconfirmed reports that the robots are Doombots, led by Latverian Dr. Doom.'
"Oh I hope your fratello, his is okay," Nonna Emma said to Loki worriedly.
"I'm sure he is quite fine, but if you don't mind we might head home and ring him," Loki replied smoothly.
He took the correct money out and handed it to the old Italian, rising to kiss her cheeks. I too rose and gave her a kiss.
"We will see you tomorrow, Nonna Emma," I assured her before we both hurried from the establishment.
Once we were far enough away from the restaurant, in the middle of a paddock actually, Loki called on Heimdall. The gatekeeper would be able to transport us from the Tuscan countryside to almost the heart of the battle.
In a flash of light both Loki and I left the dark Italian night and were stumbling into the mid-afternoon brightness of an empty New York street. We both change into armour, our own helmets now containing communication devices linked to the rest of the Avengers.
"Nice of you to join us, Reindeer games." Tony Stark's voice crackled in my ear.
"Brother! Welcome to the battle! And you too, Lady Astrid," Thor called, voice booming through the device and the air.
"Thor, we've talked about volume through the comms," Steve Rogers said in his 'Captain' voice.
"Right, sorry," Thor said more quietly.
"Back to the issue at hand," Natasha's voice floated through. "We need more people in the building. And there's another wave of 'bot's coming in. Also, hello Astrid, Loki."
Cap stated a battle plan, splitting resources between having people stop the new wave, fighting the 'bots inside and getting the people inside to safety.
About half an hour later I found myself finishing off the last of the robots inside Central Station. Very few of the new wave had made it in, picked off by Thor and Iron Man in the air, or shot at by Hawkeye. Between Clint providing cover and Loki and myself holding off robots, Natasha and Steve were quickly able to get people to safety where EMTs, aided by Bruce, were checking them over. Natasha and Steve came back to help is take out the robots once the civilians were safe.
I turned as I saw movement out of the corner of my eye. A robot was pulling its way out from under a pile of parts. Around me, a few more of the less damaged robots seemed to be doing the same.
"Cap, they're rebooting," I called.
"Alright, seems you've got to dismantle the buggers or they won't stay down," he informed the team.
"Thor, Clint and I should be right," Tony replied. "Most of our shots have fried the circuitry."
"Copy that," Captain America said, turning his attention to the robots.
"Nat, your widow bites should be pretty effective," he told her. "Do you guys have something similar?" he asked us.
"I'm not my brother," Loki replied.
"We'll figure something out," I said more helpfully.
"Do you ever think we should just stop doing this?" Loki called out as I struck a robot with my staff.
"Doing what?" I called back as I sent a bolt of heat to the core of the machine. Heat magic was far easier than electricity.
"Coming to their aid every time something decides to attack Midgard," Loki replied, ripping wires out of another robot. "The Avengers could take care of this without us."
"We don't come every time," I replied as I defended myself from one of the few remaining robots. "But I'll concede it does happen often. However, I won't stop doing this. It's kinda fun to have a good battle once in a while."
I grinned manically down at the felled robot. No more were stirring around me, so I gave it one last poke before making my way to a row of seats.
"Now you sound like Thor," Loki replied as he made his way to me.
"No, I said once in a while. Thor would happily battle every other day," I said cheekily.
I pushed a stray strand of hair off my face.
"Plus, this makes you appreciate the quiet times a bit more."
Loki nodded in agreement and we both stood to meet the Avengers out the front of the building.
They were standing in a group, Bruce checking them over for injuries. He had been relegated to medic as the Hulk wasn't needed.
"Now that we're all here," Tony began, face visible as he'd raised his face plate, "We should get food."
There were a few cheers, mostly from Thor and Clint, while Natasha shook her head in amusement.
"No, thank you," Loki replied. "We had just eaten before you asked for help."
Steve looked at the dark haired god quizzically.
"It was mid-afternoon when I sent you a message."
"Here, maybe," I replied. "But it was half past 8 in Italy."
"I could go for some Italian," Natasha commented idly.
"Italian it is then," Tony announced. "But in New York. I know this amazing little place. Run by a family that came over after the war. Proper Italian food. I'm sure they'll be open."
Bruce looked back at me and Loki.
"Are you both sure you don't want to join us?"
"I don't know about him," I waved at Loki, "But I never got dessert. I'm in."
Loki sighed dramatically then turned and smirked at me.
"I didn't get any zeppoli. They won't be as good as Nonna Emma's, but if Stark is paying…" he trailed off with a smile.
"What are we waiting for, then?" Tony asked. "Let's go!"
Loki and I went with the group. We could always go back to our villa tomorrow.