AN: This is my first attempt at a fic like this. I'm a little nervous. So, I'm sure my grammar is atrocious. I'm sure I have plot holes. I'm sure I have incorrect information, whether that be about the characters, objects, places, things, etc. Hopefully it won't be too terrible.

I am going to rate this as T for now, but there will more than likely be M rated chapters later on (Cause who doesn't love some smut). However, I'm not sure since I've never written these characters before...

Also, I love to listen to music while writing. It's inspirational. So, I will usually post my predominant musical influence for specific chapters as well. I'd always suggest looking up the song and listening to it while reading, but it's not necessary to make anything flow correctly.

Okay, on with the show!

Chapter 1: The Rain
Rating: T
Current Song: "The Rain" - Roxette

"And some things in life won't ever change
There's a smell of a rusted chain
And of love, disappearing like an airplane
But I kept the rain falling down on me all the time"

Dull green eyes lazily rolled over to rest on the blue glow to their left and then back to the bleary control panel. He regretted bringing the wicked item, lifting it from Asgard's own vault. His intentions were not malicious (for once), nor were they noble. He simply could not leave such power behind to perish. Once aboard the ship, making peace once again with his brother, he began to realize his error.….especially with Thanos' ship hovering just outside their vessel. Now, he was once again the enemy. To Thor. To the Avengers. To Thanos. However, guilt was a luxury for another time.

The persistent alarms and flashing lights were enough to nearly drive him mad. The broken viewing glass and blasted Midgardian weather made it impossible to navigate. Well, that and the copious amounts of blood draining to the floor. He knew he wouldn't be able to evade unconsciousness for much longer. He had to land. And he had to distance himself from the ship. S.H.I.E.L.D. would easily be able to track their craft. In fact, they were probably closing the distance that very moment. And Thanos, he could be anywhere.

He pulled his right hand away from his middle, leaving the left to apply pressure to what he could only hope was not a fatal wound. Slick with blood, his palm slid easily over the panel, smearing a trail in its wake.

As his ears popped with the drastic change in altitude, Loki Laufeyson finally admitted that this was all probably a very bad idea.

She wiped the back of her hand across her brow, vainly attempting to rid herself of the unruly strand of hair that continued to tease her skin. She spared but a moment to wonder why she kept it so long in the first place, grimacing at the long, blonde braid that dangled across her shoulder. Hanging one of the feeding pails on the wall, she removed her gloves and shoved them in the front, right pocket of her jeans. With a smile, she stepped out and slid the barn door closed.

"Stella!" The old door screeched and moaned as it opened and then closed behind her. "Stella? Jack?" She began to work at the buttons of her flannel as she walked through the living room, her boots landing hard against the wood flooring.

"Al! Al!"

She turned toward the small voice, a brown-haired toddler doing his best to run toward her, chubby hands grabbing the air in front of him. "Hey, Jack!" She answered, discarding her flannel on the back of the couch and crouching down to receive the boy. "How was your day, buddy?"

"We went to town today." An older, feminine voice announced from the hall. A graying woman leaned against the door frame, folding a blue blanket. "We even stopped by the library and got a new book, didn't we, Jack?" Stella glided across the room as the little boy giggled, throwing his weight around in the younger girl's arms. "How are you, Allie?" For the adults, the mood changed. Stella watched, heart wrenching, as Allison's smile faded.

"I'm okay." It was never convincing, not even to her own ears. "Better every day." There was a ghost of a smile, but the older woman would see right through.

"It's only been six months, Allison. No one expects you to be- Allie, just listen." Stella pleaded, reaching out as Allison scurried by, entertaining the toddler in her arms with tickles and noises. The elder dropped her arms to her sides, tears gathering on her lashes. "Allie…"

"This is a great book, grandma Stella." Jack giggled as Allison spun with a smile, now holding a worn copy of Goodnight Moon. Little fingers pulled and struggled to obtain the book, but she held fast. "I think we'll go read this and get to bed. We'll see you tomorrow, yea?" She didn't wait for an answer. Upstairs, Allison placed Jack on his tiny race car bed and sank to her knees on the floor. She could easily hear that noisy old door, signaling Stella's exit. Still, she couldn't cry. Not yet. She took a deep breath and gave the rambunctious boy her most dazzling smile. "Alright, Jack!" Allison exclaimed, clapping her hands to draw his attention away from the unfortunate toy he had chosen to beat against the wall. "Let's read that book!"

The hike from the ship to the nearest town had been at least two miles in mind-numbing cold and rain. Once lights were in view, Loki removed his cape and wrapped the glowing cube to avoid attracting attention. He remained in the shadows, knowing his normal attire would be a dead giveaway (thank the Nine he had not worn his helmet), too enervated to waste his magic on glamour. He had to be smart about this. He knelt next to a collection of garbage cans, biting back a groan. He was growing weaker by the moment. He had not the faintest idea of where he was, but, if he was going to survive, he needed to keep moving. He needed a plan. He needed….

The sudden pop of a misfiring engine startled him. He watched the white blur that was a slow-moving truck, hauling a flat, open trailer of junk and saw his opportunity. Struggling to his feet, he stayed low and waited for the truck to pass close enough. With an indignant grunt, he gripped a piece of the wooden railing and pulled himself aboard. He was still for few moments, shivering in the icy wind, before curling in on himself in attempt to stay hidden and, more importantly, keep pressure on the actively bleeding wound. Even though shame lingered at the edge of his thoughts, he was too tired to entertain his pride. He watched trees replace buildings and asphalt give way to gravel and hoped the operator of the vehicle could put at least a few more miles behind him.

Two and a half readings, a glass of water, and two potty breaks later, Jack's breathing evened out in restful slumber. Allison closed the book and turned awkwardly to discard it on the beside table, assiduously trying not to wake the 2 year old. Of all the places he could have chosen, Jack had deposited himself halfway across Allison's lap, making her escape nearly impossible. Her tongue darted out to wet her bottom lip before she caught it between her teeth to cut off the giggle that threatened the silence. She wiggled this way and that, slid a pillow under the boy's head but he had gripped her pants and began to suck his thumb. Yep, she was trapped.

CLICK-CLICK-CLICK-CLICK

Just as Allison had accepted her fate, she looked up to see a dark, furry head peeking inside. She quickly brought a finger to her lips, earning a curious head tilt from the German shepherd. Allison adjusted herself slightly, moving closer to the opposite site of the bed with Jack still asleep in her lap. "Sadie, come." She whispered, thankful the dog obeyed on the first try. Sadie leapt onto the mattress, turned once, and placed herself beside Allison's leg. "Good girl, good. I guess this is our roost for the night." She gave the dog's head a loving scratch and reached to turn off the small lamp...that was just out of reach. Pursing her lips, she tried again. Nope, no luck. 'Damnit!' Falling back against the headboard, the same strand of hair that had plagued her the entire day fell back down onto her face. She huffed upward and rolled her eyes when it flowed outward and back down to rest in the same spot. 'Ugh, whatever.' Defeated, her shoulders slumped and she closed her eyes, just ready to sleep. But then…

*sniff, sniff*

"Really, Sadie?"

Loki was losing the battle with consciousness, cold and exhausted as the merciless rain only grew more forceful. He had long since lost track of time and distance. The trailer bounced roughly, earning an irritated growl from the god of mischief. What he would give for hot tea and a soft place to lay his head. Pushing up onto his elbow, he was careful to keep a hand pressed to his abdomen and ignored the warmth of fresh blood oozing between his fingers. He blinked and squinted but the rain was too substantial, the blood loss too disorienting.

'This will have to do.'

He gathered the concealed hexahedron and moved to dangle his legs off the trailer bed. The vehicle was not moving quickly on the wet gravel, but Loki had a feeling this was going to sting nonetheless. In very a ungodlike fashion, he pushed himself from the trailer and rolled across the dirt and stones, thankful for the truck's loud engine as a pained cry tore from somewhere deep in his gullet. While his body had stilled, his world was still rolling. The rocks bit into his forehead as he laid still, face-down, and attempted to gather his bearings.

'What an invalid you are, Loki of Asgard.'

He coughed and finally placed a hand beneath him, pushing himself onto all fours. The object wrapped in his cape lay beside him, forgotten for the moment as he moved his right hand to press against the open wound once again.

'Weakling.'

Wet hair cascaded around his face as he grudgingly rose to his knees and then, even more slowly, to his feet. His breath appeared in bursts of fog as he scooped up his cape, along with the tesseract, and made his way into the brush. From what he could tell as he marched (hobbled? staggered?) on, he was miles away from civilization, fields and forests all around. Until….

*Mooooooooooo*

Loki staggered to a halt and wiped the rain from his eyes with his forearm. Farm animals. Fences. And that meant humans. 'Damn.' He hadn't traveled far enough. His shoulders dropped. As he turned to retreat, he caught sight of a structure in the distance. A housing for the animals. He pulled his hand away from the stomach wound to examine it, hissing and grunting through clenched teeth. The older blood had long since cooled and had frozen against his palm, reopening the wound once pulled away. Loki had no choice; he headed toward the building.

The door slid open easily enough. He leaned heavily against it once it closed behind him, breathing labored. The smell of animals assaulted his senses and he fought hard against gagging. 'Oh, how the mighty have fallen…' Lip curled in disgust, he stammered over toward the various shelvings and cabinets, dancing black dots beginning to encroach the edges of his vision. He had to hide the tesseract. He found support on a barrel of what he assumed was feed for the horses in the stalls that were intently watching his activities. Fingers numb, he clumsily wrenched off the barrel's lid and sat the shimmering cube on top of the food inside. He was barely even able to see now, body finally failing him. Magic danced at his fingertips as he hovered a trembling hand over the barrel. The tesseract began to spin, digging its way into the oats and seeds to disappear. That wasn't enough, to be hidden from view. Loki needed to shield its energy, to keep it from being tracked. On the ground, the lid's edges glistened with an eery green before lifting and replacing itself on top of the barrel. The horses neighed and stamped their hooves as the entire container shook, Loki's magic concealing the prize inside. And then all was quiet.

With a weary smile, his eyes rolled back and Loki knew no more.

"Holy shit, it's cold!" Allison exclaimed, rubbing her arms and jogging down the steps, turning to walk backwards away from the porch. "There's a twenty on the counter, Stella! Pick up some bacon when you go out!"

"Get some pigs!" Came the reply from just inside the door.

Allison laughed and pulled her jacket closed in the front to zip it, stomping harder than necessary through the nearly frozen mud on her way to the barn. She heard the tread of paws behind her and leaned down to scoop up an old (and obviously often used) yellow tennis ball. Drawing back, she threw the toy as hard as she could toward the fields, laughing as the dog buzzed past her with a happy bark. Mere moments later, Sadie returned, ball in tow.

"Silly girl." Allison giggled affectionately. She paused outside the barn doors and pulled her gloves from her pocket. The ball dropped to the ground with a dull 'thud' and Sadie placed herself between her owner and the door, tail down and ears laid back. "Move, goofy."

She slid open the door and simultaneously bumped the dog out of the way with her hip. "Good morning, guys." She paused at the first stall, reaching through to pat a black mare on the nose. "I think we may do blankets today, ladies." She stated matter-of-factly. Allison reached up for the blankets. The gloves made grabbing the fabric a bit more difficult, so she was not surprised when one slipped from her grasp to the floor. With a smile and a roll of her eyes, she bent to retrieve it. "It is supposed to rain and I-" Boot prints. And blood. Allison was frozen, save for her eyes, which began to follow the trail in the direction of Sadie's now exigent barking.

"Sadie…" She straightened, discarding the pile of blankets to the ground. "Sadie, come." She whispered urgently, motioning for the hound to obey. The dog stood just beyond a stall, facing a corner where the feed barrels were located. "Sadie, come!" Allison repeated, a little louder, still moving closer. Sadie's yapping only intensified. She anxiously bit her lip, closing the distance between them as she reached for the dog's collar. "Sadie! What are you-" She let go and stumbled backwards, knocking buckets off their hooks to clatter loudly to the floor.

Outside, the animals flinched as Allison's voice carried across the field. "STELLA!"

I'd love some feedback. Reviews are like little Loki-shaped cookies! I want bunches! :)