A Walk To Remember
Prompt: Sigyn meets [one of] the Avengers
Disclaimer: I do not own Thor or the Avengers.
Sigyn plucks at the material of her tank-top. She has always found the clothing choices of mortals to be interesting. She walks, folding her arms to pin her sweater shut. She forgets how cool it can be in the mornings yet she had decided that she would walk every morning, taking in the city that she had begun to call home more often now. He kept an apartment near the park and she had spent most of her time there. She had been thankful for the greenery in a city where noise and metal seemed to be abundant. She walks along the path, passed by two joggers who spend their morning run gossiping louder than they should. She glances over her shoulder, finding the pair curious. She distracts herself, contemplating their behavior, missing the jagged crack before her, catching her shoe and falling promptly to the ground.
She curses mortal attire, sitting down on the pavement, staring at her red palms and the tear in her jeans. She frowns, trying to rub away the dirt while ignoring the stinging.
"Are you all right, Miss?" She looks up to see him at her side, his hand on her shoulder.
"I will be quite fine-"
"Steven Rodgers."
"Steven Rodgers," she says, trying to make the name sound he did. He smiles when she struggles.
"You're not from around here, are you?"
"No." She glances away, embarrassed by how obvious it must seem. He puts his hands on her arms.
"Can you stand?"
"Yes." He helps ease her up, she returns to being focused on her scratched palms. She feels like she is a child again, brought down by her own recklessness and stupidity. "Thank you."
"You're welcome." He keeps his smile, trying to catch a glimpse of her eyes. "Do you come here often?"
"Every morning," she says, continuing on her way while he follows her. "What about yourself?"
"Yeah. I come here to run."
She nods, folding her arms again. "It's nice, isn't it?"
"What?"
"This. It's like a quiet paradise tucked in the middle of so much chaos."
"That it is." He tucks his hands into his pockets, looking between concrete and her. "Do you not like the city?"
She crinkles her nose, glancing at him. "It would not be my first choice. It's too much." Blue eyes like Thor's catch her gaze and her thoughts drift to Loki. He had yet to say that he liked her going out in the early hours of the morning. Too often she would have to push him away while he asked why it couldn't wait until he was ready to get out of bed.
"Ah." He finds himself staring at her, though it's all for good reason. She's pretty, he thinks, but getting up the nerve to ask her if she'll meet him again, maybe take him up on an offer to get coffee is difficult. "Would you-?" He bites back on the rest of the words when she looks at him, innocent gray eyes staring at him.
"Would I what?"
"Would you like to get some coffee?"
"I suppose." She smiles, realizing how little she knows about the world she's trying to accept. She's heard Thor speak of coffee but it's something that Loki refuses and from what she's seen she can't understand why anyone would like it.
"Great." He smiles, leading her to a little place that he remembers. It sits on the edge of the park, squeezed between larger buildings and some of the fancier homes that border on the edge. He holds the door for her, going to the counter while she lingers behind, glancing around. She's observing what she can when he returns with two cups of coffee, holding out one to her.
She takes it, the warmth irritating her hands. "Thank you." She takes a sip of it, finding the liquid bitter, yet she swallows, smiling at him. He grins, walking with her outside of the cramped little shop.
"How long have you been here?"
"Only a few weeks."
"Have you been finding your way all right?"
"Yes. It's a change but change is good, isn't it?"
"Yeah." He laughs. "Where did you live before here?"
She keeps the cup cradled in her hands, focusing on it. "That's difficult to answer simply."
"I have the time."
"Well, you'll think me strange."
"I've known stranger things."
"Oh?"
Now, he falls quiet. He doesn't want to tell her what he is, what he's done and how he got there. He prefers it like this, where they're both just average people who can enjoy coffee together and maybe, he thinks, another sort of date. "Now that would be difficult to explain."
"I would like to hear." She likes knowing that she might not be the only strange one, that other people have complex stories to tell. She takes another sip of coffee, focusing her eyes on him.
"Maybe another time?" He asks, courage mounting. If she says yes, he can easily suggest another outing. He looks at her, hoping that she'll say yes.
"Okay," she says. "Tomorrow morning perhaps?" She suggests and he hides the crestfallen expression that threatens to show. He had been hoping a different time, one later, one where they might not just end up strolling in the park.
"All right," he says, softly. They continue to walk around, taking part in small talk. He suggests places she should go to while she describes, vaguely, what her experience living in the city have been. He tries to add his own memories, always sure to make them be modern. They've circled around the same bench twice and are coming around a third time when he finally has more nerve. "You know, I was thinking maybe you and I could catch a film."
"I'm not sure," she says.
"Think about it," he says. He glances up and sees two men standing there, one dressed casually while the other is in a suit, tense. He catches a glimpse of the casually dressed one's face and recognizes him as Thor. "I know him," he says to her, gesturing to the blonde haired man. He waves, excited to introduce her. "Hey." Thor turns and smiles, but not at him.
He sees her face light up, grinning. "Thor," she calls, hurrying over to him. The man beside Thor who Steven couldn't place turns and he pales. Dressed in a business man's suit, Loki catches her, wrapping his arm around her shoulders.
Thor laughs. "I told you she was fine."
And Steven stands back, barely holding onto his coffee. From all his observations, Loki is the enemy, heartless and will not stop at anything to achieve his goals. Yet here the dark haired god stands, keeping her close to him, whispering things to her that he cannot hear. "You know them?"
She smiles at him. "Of course." And her smile widens when she recalls his name from the stories she's heard. "You're that Rodgers." Sigyn laughs, unable to understand why she didn't realize it before. "I'm Sigyn," she says. "Loki's wife."
And even when he sees it, hears her say it, he still cannot believe it.
