Lonna bit into her cinnamon raison bagel, licking the strawberry cream cheese from the corner of her mouth as she jotted down various notes. Glancing up from her work, she caught Thor watching her and gave a 'What?' face, to which he merely shook his head and returned his attention back to Director Fury. Lonna looked back at her work, quite relieved Stark had given her the data pad completely free of charge, though she had a sneaking suspicion it was his way of flirting. She smirked to herself, knowing he wouldn't get very far, but couldn't help but be glad she wouldn't have to strain her shoulders any more with so many binders. Kudos to you, Mr. Stark.
"Lonna, bring up what information we have on Jötunheim," Fury prompted.
"Didn't Loki destroy that place, with like, the Death Star, or something?" Tony asked.
"Bifröst," Lonna corrected, beating Thor to the punch.
"Meh, it's a large spherical space thing that shoots death lasers," Tony explained, "Same difference."
"If rainbows and bridges are a means to our destruction, then we've been doomed since the beginning of time," Lonna retorted, with a snarky smirk.
Thor shot her a warning look.
"Feisty, I'm liking you more and more," Tony beamed, until he caught Pepper glaring at him.
As Fury requested, Lonna located all the information she had on Jötunheim, and threw the information onto the smart table so everyone could see the information. With technology like this, it beat old photocopied hand outs, hands down.
"Jötunheim," Director Fury began, ignoring the exchange that just took place, "Is just one of many realms we are just learning about. With the help of Thor, and what little information we managed to milk out of Loki, we're learning more about these places. With recent events taking place, more worlds are finding out about us as well. So to avoid further damage, we need to prepare ourselves for the possibility that others can and will attack. Knowing what to expect only puts us ahead. So, yes, Jötunheim was destroyed, but that just leaves seven other known realms to deal with. As we learned with the attack on Manhattan, and Thor pointed out, there are other unknown worlds, and as far as that goes, we have a lot of research ahead of us."
"So, why do they call it the nine realms if there's other unknown worlds?" Clint asked.
"The Galaxy you call, Milky Way, which I believe is also the name of a dessert, is only one origin of the realms. Seeing as there are many known galaxies, there are many realms," Thor replied.
"Are you suggesting that there's hundreds of realms then?" Steve asked.
"Could be millions," Lonna suggested, glancing over to Steve. Their eyes locked for a moment, Lonna's cheeks flushing slightly at the memory of their night together, a few nights back. She hadn't talked to him since, for many reasons. She saw the hurt flash across his eyes, but looked back towards the director. "Needless to say, we have a lot of research to do."
"Each of you have your files e-mailed to you, plus a hard copy for those of you who haven't quite figured out technology yet," Fury said, flashing a look towards Steve, "We'll discuss more on the matter, next week, same time, same day. You're all dismissed." He looked to Lonna and Steve, "Can I speak to you two, for a second," he more demanded than asked.
"Ooooh," Tony cooed, "Someone got caught making out in the janitors closet!" he teased as he left the room.
Steve rolled his eyes as he rose to meet with Fury, but part of him wondered if Stark might be half right. Had Fury somehow found out about what happened between the two of them a few nights ago? They did have their eyes and ears, virtually everywhere. Steve flushed slightly at the thought. It wasn't professional to have that sort of relationship, or any sort of relationship with a co-worker. Though they technically weren't co-workers, none of the Avengers got paid to save the world, unlike the SHIELD agents, they just happened to...work together?
"Lonna isn't all that tech savy," Fury began, "but she does have her foot in the door, which is a bit more than you can say."
Steve held his breath, eyes trying not to glance at Lonna, but it was proving a difficult task.
Lonna on the other hand, seemed relatively relaxed as she held onto every word.
"I think you both can get something good out of each other if you learn together, so why not got to a museum or tech convention. Might be entertaining and informative," Fury suggested.
Steve rose a curious, "Almost sounds like you're sending us on a date."
"Did you want it to be a date?" Fury asked sarcastically.
Steve stuttered, but managed to compose himself, "We should keep thing professional," he replied.
"The last thing we need right now, during times like this, are distractions in the work place," Lonna agreed.
"I was only joking," Fury assured them, "No need to act so guilty," he chuckled then turned to leave, "But seriously," he called over his shoulder, "you should both look into getting updated to the 21st century," he added, leaving the meeting room.
"What was that about?" Steve asked, glancing down at Lonna.
Acting quickly, she snatched his hand, dragging the man to a corner of the room, checking the angles of the cameras, that she was aware of, and forced him against the wall. Steve was about to protest,( despite the fact that he practically allowed her to drag him along, knowing his strength) until she pressed her lips against his.
The moment was short lived when Lonna pulled away, speaking in a low tone. "I'm sorry," she whispered, "I've been holding back since the other night, because I didn't want anyone to catch on." She bit her lip, stepping back a bit, "I mean, I don't know how you feel about the other night, but if-"
Steve cut her off by continuing the kiss. He cupped her cheek, hand moving up to comb her hair. A soft moan escaped her lips. Steve broke away, looking down at Lonna, etching her face into his memory. He wondered how it could have moved so fast, not that kissing a woman was moving fast, but the fact that the same day he had met her, they slept together. But here there were, talking like it had been going on for a long time, though it had been less than a week. There was something about her that was so enchanting.
"So...um...Fury suggested a museum," Lonna began.
"I used to love museums as a kid," Steve beamed, "Though I'm sure they're much different now, than they were back then," he admitted sheepishly.
"Quite," Lonna admitted. "So...should we go see one?"
Steve glanced at the clock, "Well, it's only a quarter past 2, we might have time to make it to one," he smiled. Leading the way, he held the door open, allowing her to walk out first. They were half way down the hall when she stopped in her tracks.
"Forgot my tablet," she said suddenly, "I'll meet you down stairs, I'm just going to run back and grab it really quick," she announced.
"Are you sure?" Steve asked.
Lonna nodded, before heading back to the meeting room. Entering the room, she spotted her data pad laying on the table. She was half way across the room, when she stopped suddenly and glanced over her shoulder, "You should know better than to try to sneak up on me," she smiled.
"I wasn't trying to," Thor admitted, folding his arms across his chest, "I only mean to talk."
Lonna picked up her tablet, then took a seat, crossing her legs before resting her chin in her palm and supported her elbow on the arm rest, watching Thor with lazy eyes, "So talk," she replied.
"What are you working at, brother?" The heavy Asgardian accent asked.
Lonna shrugged nonchalantly, "Only trying to make friends."
"Seems to me you're trying to make more than just friends," Thor accused.
Lonna sarcastically rolled her eyes, "There's nothing wrong with flirting," she scrunched up her nose in a playful mood.
Thor shook his head, "This isn't the first time you've used your magic to mess with the mind of a man, Loki, and I don't expect it to be your last, or do you forget about your son, Sleipnir? Or your many other children?"
Lonna's jaw dropped slightly, "I'm not as naive as I used to be, brother, don't chastise me!" she snorted.
Thor shook his head, "Just be careful," Thor warned, "the moment your idea goes south, I'm withdrawing myself from this game."
Lonna merely shook her head and scoffed, "Whatever."