Chapter 4

It was almost dark when a muffled pounding began on the front door of the secluded house, the sound of it reverberating softly throughout the still interior. If one didn't know any better, they might assume that the house was unoccupied; there was a brief pause, before the banging began again.

Maeve emerged from her room, backlit by the dim lighting of a couple of large candles that she had burning in her room. Fussing with the blanket she had cocooned herself in, she made her way to the door, her bare feet carrying her quickly over the cold wood floor.

"Yeah, yeah, keep your shirt on." She muttered as she fumbled with the lock at the door, her fingers finally working in the manner they were supposed to she pulled the door open.

"Hello Maeve!"

"Chris?" Maeve stared, taken aback. "What are you-?"

"We were out with Gramps and figured we'd just come here with him since it'd be stupid to have him go all the way home to drop us off and then drive back."

" 'We'?" As if summoned by her very question Ethan stepped into view, the lantern he held giving him an unsettling countenance as he stood on her front stoop.

"Hello Maeve."

"Ethan." Maeve responded, just as briefly, while Chris stood between the two, seemingly unaware of the underlying tension.

"Ah Maeve!" Frank called her attention away; poking her head out of the door to peer around the threshold she spotted him, gathering some tools together out of the back of his truck. "How you holding up? Sorry we came by so late, Missus Finch was having some troubles with her water heater and it took me a bit longer than I anticipated."

"Oh that's fine. The walkway back to the generator should still be cleared from earlier. You need a hand?"

"Nah that's what I got these two for, you get back inside and I'll let you know what's what in a bit. C'mon boys." Chris bounded off after his grandfather while Ethan remained a moment longer, his gaze on something somewhere over Maeve's shoulder. Casting a quick glance over her own shoulder and finding nothing, Maeve turned back to give the man before her a quizzical look.

"Can I help you?" She shot, distracting him from his wayward stare and bringing his gaze back to her. He began to say something, but was cut short by Frank's voice.

"Ethan! That light does me no good over there son, come on." Without a second glance Ethan stalked off to join his grandfather and younger brother. Shutting and bolting the door, Maeve leaned against it and let out a heavy sigh. Gathering the blanket up around her again she gave the space a cursory glance herself.

She wasn't sure where Loki had gone off to, not that she could say she truly cared at the moment. She hadn't seen hide nor hair of him since their explosive episode this afternoon. She'd locked herself in her room, doing the best that she could manage with what she had to get some sort of map sorted out for him so that he could leave. What he had done with himself since then had been a complete mystery. Making her way back to her room she walked past the door to the guest bedroom. It was still closed, a thought crossed her mind to go in there, to open the door and see if he was actually in there, a thought that was quickly snuffed out as she turned to continue back to her room.

Once inside she began half heartedly picking up some of the books that littered the floor, dropping the two she'd grabbed onto her bed before flopping down herself. Laying on her back with her hands splayed out at her sides her mind wandered. Soon she'd have power back, power meant internet, internet meant more resources, resources that could be checked and double checked, printed and charted and then handed off to a certain demigod who could then be sent packing. And then... and then she'd be alone again. A frown creased her face. She didn't care for the way that phrase suddenly sounded in her head. She liked being alone but for some reason it sounded more melancholy than it should have.

Maeve wasn't alone, alone. Sure she lived alone, but that was the way she liked it. Even with everything that had happened while growing up and while at college she'd still managed to have a few close friends and that's really what a lady needed in her life. Good friends, good food, and a sturdy roof over her head. So why now was it starting to sound... for lack of a better word, different? She had an inkling as to why but much as she'd been doing the last few days she was going to choose to once again ignore it.

Another round of knocking interrupted her thoughts, this time from the back door and at a much more frantic pace. Gathering herself up once again Maeve moved to the back mud room, hissing as her bare feet made contact with the cold tile floor. Snatching up the flashlight she'd left behind from earlier she flicked it on as she undid the latch coming face to face once again with a rather flustered looking Chris.

"Chris? What are you-?"

"Bathroom?"

"Wha- Oh, oh, yeah sure, you know where it is." She stepped out of the way trying to stifle her laughter as he squeezed in past her and tried to step out of his boots. "Chris just forget it and go, I'd rather clean up melted snow than something else."

"Yeah, yeah, thanks!" He called over his shoulder, having managed to get his boots off anyway before darting down the dark hallway and into the bathroom. Shaking her head and chuckling to herself Maeve pulled out one of the towels she kept in the mud room and sat Chris' boots on top of it while she reached for a second one to sop up the already melting snow on the floor.

"Looks like some things never change. He's always got someone cleaning up behind him." Spinning around Maeve came face to face with Ethan.

"Can I help you?" She shot back, trying to keep the edge out of her voice.

Ethan shook his head. "I was sent to make sure that one actually made it inside, as Gramps didn't want his adoptive god-daughter accidentally slipping in a frozen puddle of piss come tomorrow." He gave her a strange look before stepping past her, out of the mudroom and into the rest of the house.

Maeve bristled, at his words and his actions, but mostly at his tone. "You know, Chris isn't a kid anymore, you should stop treating him like he's a child just because he's younger than you. Also, just what do you think you're doing?"

"Going to find the 'not kid'." he called over his shoulder as he continued on down the hallway.

"Ethan." Maeve called after him, expecting him to stop, when he didn't she let out an exasperated huff as she followed him. "Ethan!"

"What?" Pausing he turned to look at her, his hand resting on the guest bedroom doorknob.

"Okay, one, you are tracking snow and muck all through my house. Two, since when did it become okay to just barge in uninvited to someone else's home and just poke around where you're not suppose to?" At this she moved between him and the guest bedroom door, locking eyes with him. "And three, like I said, Chris is old enough to not need his brother checking up on him while he uses the bathroom, he's a sophomore in college for goodness sake, I think he's figured out how use the toilet on his own by now, so stop using him as an excuse for why you're really intruding."

"Sophomore he may be but he's still an idiot sometimes. Also intruding? Since when is a friend coming inside intruding?"

"Oh, we're 'friends' again, now? When did this happen? Do the others know?"

"God, you're never gonna let that go are you?" He gave an exasperated sigh, but the look that briefly flickered through his eyes showed he didn't really care whether she was over things or not.

"I'd be an idiot if I did."

"Well you're an idiot for still thinking it matters." Ethan shot back. The pair squared off in the hallway, both staring the other down.

"Get out of my house Ethan." Maeve finally let out, not budging and her tone making it clear she had no intention of arguing. For a moment she wasn't sure if he'd actually listen, then the hallway was flooded with a warm light as Chris exited the bathroom. Turning on his heel, Ethan made his way back down the hall towards the mudroom as he called over his shoulder, "Come on Chris."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming!" Maeve glared at his retreating back for a second before turning her attention back to the brother that now stood next to her. "Hey thanks again for letting me in, you're a real lifesaver! Seriously I...," he paused in his ramblings for a second when he heard the back door slam shut. Letting out a sigh he gave an exaggerated slouch before turning a concerned smile on her. "So I take it you guys haven't exactly patched things up, huh?"

"Chris, I-"

"Hey," he began, holding up his hands in a sign of surrender. "I know, 'let sleeping dogs lie' and all. I guess what I'm trying to say is, I know Ethan can be, for lack of a better word, an ass sometimes and worse at others. If it helps... I never believed any of the things that he said about you."

Taking a deep breath Maeve sighed, before gently patting Chris's arm. "I know Chris, really It's okay, you don't have to keep apologizing for him every time we see each other you know."

"I know. It's just, well you know how he gets." At this Maeve snorted causing Chris to chuckle.

"Move it Chris!" Came a shout from outside, prompting a scowl from both Chris and Maeve.

"I better go, wouldn't want him to get his undies in even more of a bunch." He chuckled as he gave Maeve's hand a gentle squeeze. "Take care of yourself okay?"

"Same to you." She returned his smile and hand squeeze with one in kind, before Chris made his way down the hall and out the back door, gently shutting it behind him.

After that time seemed to plug along slowly. Just as Maeve was digging out a few more candles she heard a strong hum from outside, a moment later the lights blinked on and the heating kicked in. Stepping into a pair of boots and a thick jacket Maeve opened up the front door just before Frank could manage to knock.

"You've got lights!"

"Yes well I can see that, thanks Frank." She laughed good naturedly. "Would you guys like to come in? I can whip up some coffee and hot chocolate real quick."

"Thanks, but we'll have to pass this time around. Apparently I've worked them too hard and they're eager to get home. I just wanted to let you know, I managed to get the parts sorted for the night. The old beast should keep on running for a while longer, but I want you to stop by the next time you're in town so we can have a chance to look at a newer model. This one will keep kicking but if this winter is supposed to be as hard as they're saying it's going to be, I don't think it'll last much longer after that."

"Duly noted. Thanks again Frank, have a safe ride back." at that Frank wished Maeve a good night before, loading up the rest of his things and back his truck out of her driveway. Bolting the door and sighing, she kicked off her shoes and threw her jacket across the back of one of the chairs at her breakfast counter before moving about the room and blowing out the few candles she'd had around the place. After the last candle was out in the living space, she gathered up a few books in her arms and made her way back to her room. With the generator fixed, that solved one of her problems. And now with power came internet and the chance to solve another problem. Kicking the door to her bedroom shut behind her, she made sure it was locked before unloading her books onto her bed amidst the others already there.

"Alright, let's get rid of a demi-god."

It was cold.

But this cold was nothing compared to the absolute frigidness that he had experienced, falling through the space of the nine realms when he'd been flung from the decaying Rainbow Bridge.

As he stood there, cloaked in darkness and nothing more, watching as the lone vehicle arrived and its three occupants made their way around the woman's house, he seethed. Not because of what had transpired between the two of them, though he was still amused at the sheer audacity of her to raise her voice at one such as himself. No, all that had taken place until this point, he'd found quite the interesting distraction, and that's what now ate away at him.

Look at you. How precious the two of you are. The inner voice hissed. If one didn't know any better, one would think that you had acquired a fondness for mortals to rival that of your brothers.

"No." Loki growled out between clenched teeth, his voice low in his throat. "I am nothing like my... brother." He was nothing like Thor. Given the chance that oaf would probably give up all of Asgard if it meant having dealings with these mortals; he had certainly become quite obsessed with them since his first encounter in, what had she called it, New Mexico? Clearly the blow to his head from the initial impact on Earth had finally done what many had only hoped to do in battle with his brother and knocked him senseless.

No. Loki of Asgard was nothing like Thor.

Loki of Asgard? Aren't you forgetting something? Loki's fist clenched as the memories came rushing back, bringing with them the wash of utter betrayal he had felt. They betrayed you! They lied to you; is it much of a stretch to believe that they despised you as well? He remembered the tales, ages ago, sitting before their father or some other elder, a tutor, learning of encounters with the Frost Giants. He remembered that feeling of awe and adoration he had felt towards the man he'd called father all these centuries, amazed at his might, what he had done and could do. They spun nothing but lies, fooled you into believing the horrid tales of the Frost Giants, the whole time knowing what you truly were, the whole time laughing at you; still they laugh at you. And how much more they would laugh if they could only see you now. A growl of anger on his lips, Loki struck out, slamming his fist in to the nearest tree. Opening his hand up against the surface of the tree, green wisps began pouring from his hand, seeping into the bark. Pulling his hand back he flexed it once, an odd green light glowing from within the tree for the briefest moment before he clenched his fist again; what began as a soft creaking grew to a loud groan as the tree contorted and bent under the weight of his magic, until nothing but a charred misshapen ghost of it's former self was left.

"I will show them." Loki wheeled turning on his heel, to glare back down at the house below, the truck and it's occupants now gone. Once he got back, he'd show them all. Everyone who'd ever wronged him, he would show them, and that woman down there would be the first.

It was well into the morning before Maeve had bothered coming out into the backyard. A light blanket of snow a few inches thick covered the ground, a muffled crunch under her feet as picked her way around was all that could be heard. Normally this would have been something she would have loved, the sheer stillness that comes with the snow, the only thing better would have been actual snowfall at that moment. But instead the stillness irked her. No, it wasn't that, per say... You know what it really is that's bothering you. Maeve shook the thought from her head, she wasn't going to deal with that just yet, but something did feel... off, and she didn't care for it.

Ignoring it for the time being, she set back to the task at hand, marching up the hill behind her house to the tree line there, wondering if the royal pain in the ass had hidden himself up here at some point in the night. She had gone into the guest bedroom that morning only to find it, and subsequently the rest of the house empty and completely devoid of a particular Asgardian. Annoyed, she had suited up in warmer clothes and had set out to find him, halfway hoping that he'd decided to buzz off on his own. Now wouldn't that be a treat?

As she crested the hill her determined steps came to a slow halt. A few feet ahead of her, just past the first few trees in sight, stood a warped badly charred tree. Making her way over to it she reached out, her fingers gingerly touching it; where her fingers rested, layers of the tree merely flaked away, disintegrating under her touch. As her brain tried to comprehend just what it was she was seeing Maeve's eyes began to wander, and found another marred tree. Then another and another, as quickly as her eyes would land on one, she'd turn her head to find a new one. How? How did this...? What did this...? Like a freight train, it hit her, bringing with it a burning anger in the pit of her stomach.

Loki.

"Loki!" Maeve's voice rang out through the trees around her. When all she received was silence, it only spurred her on more. "Loki Odinson, you bastard!"

"Still haven't learned to leash that tongue yet have we?" Came the hissing voice at her ear, making her wheel around to find... nothing.

"You ass!" She spat, spinning trying to catch him in her line of sight. "You – You did this didn't you!"

"Do you really need to ask?" Came the answer after a moment's silence. He appeared on her left, rounding a tree, looking passive and uncaring, though his eyes looked dangerous.

"Why?" It came out as a growl as Maeve turned to stare him down, returning his dark look with one in kind.

"Because I could." No sooner had the words left his lips, than the entire atmosphere of the woods changed. Whatever Maeve had been holding back, keeping caged inside of herself in their last few altercations, almost broke loose. Her entire posture had changed, the look on her face, even her eyes had become cold, dark, but mostly, violently dangerous.

It was taking everything within Maeve to hold herself back. She'd been doing so well so far. Because I could. Of all the words in the English language... Because I could. ….Of all the ways he could have phrased what he said... Because I could. ….Of all the things he could have said... Because I could.... Those words, those oh too familiar words, that came up from years ago to mock her once again... Because I could.

"Go to hell Odinson." She hissed and turned on her heel storming back to her house. As she went to descend the hill she felt a tight grip on her arm, that began dragging her back into the cover of the trees.

"You will watch how you address me woman!" He snapped pulling her close to him, his face in hers.

"My name is Maeve! And I'll speak to you however I like! Let me go!" She swung out, managing to pull free of his grasp, only to be caught up again, this time his hand fisted into the thickness of the collar of her coat, still holding her close.

"I grow tired of your impertinence."

"And I grow tired of you!"

"Well," he sneered, glaring at her. "You, my dear, are the one who holds the remedy to alleviating that. And yet you seem to keep stalling, one would almost think you enjoy having me around this pathetic little hovel you call home. Now, how about you go back down into that pitiful shack and make good on your word to me, before I make you wish you had heeded me the first night." With that he cast her away from. Being so close to the slope of the hill Maeve lost her footing and stumbled backwards before completely losing her footing and falling. She only fell a few feet before she managed to stop herself. Pushing herself up she shook the snow out of her hair, her eyes falling to her muddied clothes. Cutting her eyes up, she caught Loki smirking down at her, a smug grin cutting across his face.

"Oh I'll help you get back alright," she muttered to herself as she got to her feet, knocking muck off of her coat as she turned her back to him. "It'll be a wonder if they even let you back in, God knows I wouldn't, you miserable spoiled brat. No wonder you think they hate you."

"What did you say?" Loki's voice was low and edged with the promise the threat he'd just issued.

"Clearly you heard me." Maeve called over her shoulder, moving to put distance between the two of them. "I didn't stutter."

"I dare you to say it again." He had appeared in front of her, looming over her with his whole height.

"You're nothing more than a miserable, spoiled brat. That clear enough for you?"

"Oh really? And where did you discern that from, hmm? Those books you hide yourself away in? Personal experience?"

"No, you." Maeve stated flatly.

"Don't presume to know me woman. You know nothing about me."

"You're right I don't. I don't know you and I don't want to know you. But what I do know about you, I know because of you. You think I'm miserable? That I'm pathetic? I'm not the one trying to get back to a place that I clearly loathe and despise. That night I found you, that's all that came from your mouth. 'How dare they!' and 'They will pay for what they have done!' over and over again. On and on about how you'd make them pay, how you would wreak vengeance and that they would rue the day they'd ever crossed you. Everything from burning all of Asgard down and leaving it in ruin to being satisfied with just erasing your father from the very history of Asgard, removing any utterance of him until he was nothing but a bad memory.

"You know what, you may be right, I may be out here, by myself and alone, but that's my choice, and you know what? I'm damn happy about it too. Me, I'm the farthest thing from miserable. You? You on the other hand are nothing more than a cranky child whose angry because he didn't get what he wanted-!"

"Silence!" Loki roared, his composure gone and his rage evident on his face. "You know nothing of what I've been through, you know not of how I have suffered; do not pretend to preach to me when you yourself are ignorant of the truth! And what would you know? You, whose life is but a meer flash compared to mine! A bat of an eye in the face of time, is what you are, here in an instant and gone in a flash, while I have lived centuries!"

"I'd rather be a quick spark than be long lived and as dimwitted as you! You think you're the only one who's ever suffered? You think you're the only one who has felt betrayed by those close to you? You're the only one who has ever felt misunderstood, pushed aside, cast out? That you're some sort of monster meant to be kept on the fringe of everything considered 'decent' and 'normal'? You're not the only being to know pain Loki. You think you know pain? Hurt or betrayal? Rejection? I'm not the ignorant one." At this she shoved her way past him and marched off towards the house.

"And if you must know, I came out here to find you so I could ask you something to better help to send you home. But forget it, I'll put together what I've got and you can leave tonight." She called over her shoulder. Having reached the back door she added, turning back to glare at him, "And that's a promise!" With that she promptly slammed the door shut behind her, the force of it dislodging some of the gathered snow on the roof.

Loki remained behind, though his first instinct was to follow after her, invade her house and show her the repercussions of speaking to him in such a way, no one spoke to him like that. No one. But something held him back. It was that nagging question that had been plaguing him ever since his first encounter with her what seemed almost an age ago now. And in her anger she'd let something slip, something in her words that caught his attention.

"… That you're some sort of monster..." those had been her words. Though it could have been possible that, in his drunken stupor he had uttered such words about himself, about his own fate, but a part of him doubted it. Even if he had, the underlying tone in her voice had been too personal to simply be something that she was throwing back in his face.

What am I?

"Indeed, what are you?"

Hours had passed since their explosive encounter in the woods.

Loki, using his magic, had let himself in and had settled himself into the living room, one of her books in hand as he lounged in the armchair. The minutes had ticked on into hours, the sun slowly falling towards the horizon, and he hadn't so much as caught a glimpse of her, let alone heard a peep out of her.

She'd shut herself inside of her room, that much was sure, but she hadn't emerged once. Not for food or for any of her materials, nothing. Movement could be heard in her room, at one point he'd even recognized what he thought was the sound of her running water, but still she didn't emerge. Just as the clock above the fireplace was rounding to 7pm, he heard her bedroom door open and the sound of footsteps coming down the hall. The cadence of her steps were different, gone was the usual casual meandering footsteps that carried her from one place to another, in their place, a purposeful, practiced rhythm, and when she rounded the corner he saw why.

Any sharp string of words he could have conjured, died on his lips the moment she came into view. Standing at the kitchen island as though she hadn't even seen him, Maeve arranged the different things that she had carried with her from within her room. Gone where the muddied clothes from earlier, in their place was a form fitting pair of black, high waisted pants, that showed off the lean line of her legs and the soft curve of her hips. A blousy off-white top was tucked in at the waist, with black matching cuffs and collar. She rocked from one foot to the other as she stood there arranging things into a black clutch, a pair of blue high heeled ankle boots donning her feet.

Maeve paused, her eyes cutting to the side as if she'd finally noticed that he was sat there watching her. Gathering up something in her hand she left her other items on the counter as she approached him, again with that practiced self assured cadence. Stepping more into the light he could see that she'd also donned makeup as well. Her eyes line in kohl and her lips painted a deep red, the impact of the difference between days prior and now made even more apparent by just how different she looked with all of her hair gathered back out of her face like that, nestled in an interesting updo. Now as she stood before him, he realized the shirt she was wearing was a bit more sheer than he'd previously noted, when it caught the light just right he could see the hints of an elaborately strappy black bra underneath.

"Here." Was all she said as she dropped a folded wad of paper into his lap.

"And what, pray tell, would this be?" He drawled, not once losing eye contact with her.

"Some people would call it 'a map'." She stated flatly before turning on her heel and moving back toward the counter. As he stood to go after her, he caught the scent of her perfume, it was subtle, but it was there, a much different note than anything she'd worn previously around the house. Giving himself a mental shake he disappeared only to reappear beside her.

" 'A map'?"

"Is there an echo in here?" Maeve looked around comically for a moment, batting her eyes innocently. "Strange. I've never noticed it before."

"What kind of map, woman?"

"The one you wanted, Asgardian." She turned to look at him her lips slightly pursed. "You said you wanted to go home, I told you I'd figure you out a way there, and that I'd do so by tonight. Tada," she added with a wave of one of her hands. "That's what you've got."

With a look of disinterest Loki unfolded the map, his eyes making quick work of scanning over it's surface and discerning the information it held. Spreading it out on the counter before him, he pointed to an area that was circled on the map. "And what exactly is this suppose to be?"

Copying his look of disinterest, Maeve stopped checking over the things in her clutch to glance over at the map. "That," she said placing her finger on the dot in the center of the circle, "would be where I found you. This here," she pointed now to the surrounding circle. "Would be my best estimation of where you should look for however you managed to enter into our world." Turning back to her things she gave a satisfied nod before closing her clutch with a snap.

"I thought you said you knew where you found me. After literal days of deliberation this is the best that you can give me? A 'guess'?"

"I told you I had a question for you earlier, but since you had decided that destroying my property and being an overall prat were more important to you, that's what you get, 'a guess'." Maeve gave a dismissive wave as she moved towards the door, fetching a well tailored leather coat from within.

"Indeed and just where is that you think you're going, hmm?"

"Well I don't see how that's any of your business really." She locked eyes with him again, her painted lips set in a confident smirk to rival one of his own. "But if you must know, I'm going out to celebrate with a friend."

"Oh," he leaned in closer to her, his eyes mocking as he spoke. "And do tell what is the cause for celebration?"

"For her, a new opportunity for her business and hopefully the final nail in the coffin when it comes to her ex. But for me," her smirk bloomed into a full smile as she leaned in closer as well, giving him a quick glance over, before locking eyes with him again. "For me it'll be losing roughly, what 170, 180 lbs of Asgardian dead weight." With that she snatched up her clutch and turned towards the door, calling over her shoulder. "I'd say I'd miss you, but, that'd be a lie."

"Woman." Loki called after her, a part of him greatly bothered by the fact that she would be so flippant with him, while another side, though he'd never admit it, seemed to have grown to enjoy this odd banter between them, even as she walked away from him, blatantly ignoring him. "Maeve." his grin grew as he watched her hesitate at the sound of her name. Turning slowly around, she stared at him for a moment, her face unreadable, frozen almost as if she were lost in time, until a wash of warm light flooded the front of the house, a moment later a knock sounding at the door.

"Goodbye Loki." Was all she said as she turned and slipped out the door, locking it behind her. He could hear her greeting her companion on the other side of the door, a moment later the sound of car doors closing and then they were gone and he was alone.

She was gone. And he was alone.

She was gone... though, her perfume lingered...

Loki looked down at the map spread out across the counter... he had what he'd wanted...

"Damn."

And so ends Chapter 4! It's not where I wanted to stop but it felt the best place to pause for now. The chapter was threatening to become quite the monster in length so I decided to lop it off here.

Also long time no see! It's been more than a while and it feels good to be back, especially after dealing with so much nonsense in real life. Anyway, thank you as always for reading, reviews are welcome and appreciated!