Song: One Good Reason - Pink

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Chapter 4: Never.

The Biofrost opened for Lady Sif and The Warriors Three to land on Midgard, at a rather hot and dry weather. A small town could be seen not so far from they were standing and they headed there, looking for their friend and leader. The walk was quite short, as they approached, they could do nothing but smile at the hope Thor's return brought them. Sif couldn't wait to hold him in her arms once more. By the end of the main street, there was a building with huge crystal doors, and they could see Thor through them, they stood out and waved to the God of Thunder, dressed in plain Midgardian clothes. Thor opened for them and embraced each one of his friends who came to rescue him.

"What are you doing here?" He asked, smiling widely as he greeted Fandral "We came to take you home, of course" Sif responded, reaching out for his hand "I can't go back" he said calmly, ignoring her gesture "Father is dead because of me, I know Mother doesn't want me there" Sif shook her head and frowned "Thor, the Allfather is still alive, he fell into the Odin sleep, but he lives" Thor's look changed immediately, hurt by his brother betrayal, his hands closed in tight fists, but his enragement was disrupted by the appearance of a big black cloud away, nearby the point where the warriors appeared earlier. Someone was about to join the party.

A few minutes after, the dark silhouette of the Destroyer could be watched from afar. All five friends stood, ready for the fight, in the middle of the main street "So back together in battle" Sif said and smirked as she assumed combat position "I am nothing more than a man now, my friends, I won't be of any use in battle, but I can help save the lives of this people. Go on, and do as you must" She nodded, convinced it was for the best, didn't understand what he meant for 'only a man' but she always trusted him blindly, so she and her friends went ahead and faced the Destroyer, trying to protect everyone around. When the Destroyer hit Sif and sent her flying through the air, she hid behind a car to catch her breath, Thor approached and held her hand "You must stop, go back to Asgard, this is not a battle you should fight" she covered his hand with hers and shook her head "No, I am not going back without you, and if I must die, I shall die a warrior's death" Thor kissed her hand and smiled small "You are not dying today, dear Lady Sif, this is my battle, I started this whole mess and I shall end it, but I won't take any more lives with me, stay safe". Before she could answer, he was walking towards the huge metal adversary. From the other side of the street, a woman's voice reached Sif's ears, it was one of the women he was having breakfast with, Jane Foster, "What is he doing?" she asked, walking towards Thor "Stay where you are!" Sif warned her "He knows what he is doing" Fandral took her by the arm and stopped her, in that moment, a big hit was heard and Thor fell a few meters away from them "NO!" they both shouted, and Jane threw herself over him.

Sif stood still; he could see her mouth moving but couldn't catch any of the words coming out of it. Away in the dessert, what looked like a projectile took off and was approaching very, very fast. Eric Selvig took Jane Foster by the arms and dragged her away, but there was nothing to be afraid of, it was Mjolnir coming back to his rightful owner, Thor was becoming himself once more. The hammer reached Thor's hand and a bright light covered him while his power and attire returned in all his glory, his friends smiled and cheered knowing he was back at last. Sif smirked knowing he could now come home with her, when the lightning disappeared, there was Thor in full armor, holding his weapon, looking as tall and powerful as ever, she was walking close to him but Jane was closer, Sif stood right where she was and looked at Fandral, he nodded and she understood Thor had to say goodbye to his new friends, but then, Thor held Jane by the waist and flew back to where the Biofrost opened.

They were all shocked, but it was Lady Sif who couldn't say a single word. They all followed them, for they needed to go back home. On the way there, Sif was very quiet, lost in her thoughts, Fandral patted her shoulder and smiled, he was such a good friend, didn't even need words to comfort her. They expected to see the bridge open in their way, but it didn't, there were Thor and Jane, looking up to the sky, waiting for Heimdall to open the portal, it took a few seconds for the big grey swirl on the sky to appear, announcing the imminent open of the wormhole, the Warriors were standing on the mark, waiting to be taken home, but Thor stayed to say something to Jane "Thor, hurry! The portal!" Sif said, but he didn't listen, he was promising to return for this new interesting woman he met in his exile, Sif wanted to scream for him, honestly, she wanted to beat her up, because she noticed how this Jane Foster looked at her fiancé, only Sif could not let her guard down in the middle of a battle, if that wasn't the case, Jane would have suffered Sif's rage much earlier.

And then, it happened.

She kissed him. Jane kissed Thor.

And he kissed her back.

Sif frowned. For a moment she felt like fainting and the next second her hand was on her sword, it Fandral and Hogun took both her hands, restraining her from attacking, Volstagg stood still, jaw dropped at the mortal kissing his friend farewell. In those few seconds Sif felt her world crushing around her, her hopes, dreams and plans shattered before her eyes, there was no more warrior, only a wounded woman, feeling betrayed and angered.

At their return to Asgard, a little battle was fought, the only casualty being a pain for the royal family. Loki had fell from the bridge in a very tragic farewell to his father and brother, Frigga was very quiet since the incident, she spent long afternoons in the Palace's gardens, looking at the fountains, holding books by the big tree's shade, she didn't even read them, Thor could tell his mother was grieving Loki's loss more than anyone else in the realm, despite what his actions suggested, Loki was their family, he was Frigga's boy, her apprentice and biggest pride.

On the other side, Frigga could tell her other son was uneasy with himself, something on Midgard had changed him, besides the lesson Odin wanted to teach him, there was something deeper in his soul that didn't let him live with himself. There was the Queen of Asgard, sitting by a fountain, quietly observing Thor walk through the hall when a lady approached to him and stood still before him for a couple seconds, and then she stepped closer, closer. It took Frigga a while to realize, it was Lady Sif, she wasn't in her casual armor attire, instead, she wore a long and light ivory colored robe, with a silver thin belt to the waist, making her look way more curvy than usual, the robe hung elegantly from her well-formed shoulders and her hair was loose, only decorated by a silver flowery pin on the side of her head. She looked ravishing. Witnessing this scene, Frigga knew it was time to leave, give them some privacy, but for some reason, she stayed, quiet and watching.

Sif took Thor's hands into hers and smiled to him, he smiled back, but the gesture was not as sincere as she wanted it to be, his look revealed he was somewhere else, he had been since the moment they were back. Sif could feel the color reaching her cheeks, only this time was not out of shyness because of her beloved, it was anger; she knew what was wrong with him. But she didn't want to risk it all. Sif frowned and placed her hand on Thor's cheek "What is the matter, my love?" He chuckled once and shook his head "There is no matter, dear Lady Sif" She half smiled and looked down "It has been a long time since you called me that" he knew what she meant, since the betrothal he got used not call her 'Lady' anymore, it was not necessary, she was no longer his mate but his lover. Sif understood the silence and wrapped her arms around his narrow waist, resting her face on his chest "I don't know what you went through on your exile, but I know you are here, at home, safe. I know you learned and grew, and I am just too glad to have you back with me, in my arms again" He held her back, kissed the top of her head and held her closer "Yes I am, back home, Sif, darling". She looked up at him and took his hand, and then she stepped on her toes to kiss his cheek and then left, saying nothing more.

Frigga shook her head; she knew Sif was no fool, and she felt sorry for her, because she knew what not even Thor himself could say for sure, that someone had taken over his heart.

The Queen approached her son as soon as he was alone, worry reflected in his crystal clear look, she sat on a couch and patted the place next to her, offering it to him, Thor sat next to his mother and looked at her "I don't know why I am feeling this way, Mother"

"That Midgardian woman moved you, didn't she?"

"She is a special woman, none like any I have known"

"Well you don't socialize with many of her kind" she replied even though she knew that was not what he meant.

"That is true" He chuckled "But her heart is pure, she is very smart, I… I don't know how to explain it"

"I can tell you are troubled, my son, and I can't give you the answers, only you can choose your path, I can only remind you of what you already know, the differences between our races go beyond the place where we live, there would be responsibilities you would resign to" she stroke his cheek "unfortunately my son, royalty has it's disadvantages, you must consider if that path is worth quitting everything you already built here" Frigga kissed him on the forehead and walked away, leaving him with a clearer mind, but not an easy choice.

It was a cold night and she missed his body in bed, his warm embrace and even his snoring waking her every now and then. She rolled onto her other side, looking through the window, she could see the shadow of a big tree, and heard the soft song of the wind blowing through the tree's branches, she tried to sleep some more, when she closed her eyes, that horrible image stroke her once more: Thor and Jane's lips meeting. A week had passed and he didn't look for her, she was worried and confused, she wanted him for herself, but didn't know how to deal with such matters, she never expected she had to. She didn't realize when she finally fell asleep, but the same nightmare haunted her, she was few meters away, watching them hold hands and whisper sweet nothings, she tried to run and punch Jane, but it didn't matter how hard she tried, she wasn't moving, she couldn't scream either, breathing became hard and then… the voice was heard, it sounded familiar, it made her calm "It took him a few days to forget about you, he is not worthy of you, dear, a woman like yourself deserves so much more than that" Sif wanted to reply, she wanted to say that she didn't want anyone else, there was no one else in this or any other realm she wanted more "Sometimes what we want is not what we need" the voice replied, as if it could read her thoughts, the sound was soothing, even though it's words were not "Sleep now, sleep well and dreamless, your time will come". And so, she fell into a dreamless sleep, finally having some rest, her last thought being "One good reason, I only need one good reason to know we are not over yet".

The next morning, she took her time to dress in a red robe, wearing her weapons and a light but tight armor, she had decided to stop pretending she was one of those feminine and delicate ladies who spent the day reading and fanning themselves around the Palace, she was so much more than that and she was proud. In her way in, she encountered Thor, once more looking away in a balcony, she walked a few steps and stopped, shook her head and turned around stopping right behind him "Do you miss her that much?" She asked sincerely, a knot in her throat. He turned to her and shook his head.

"Dear Lady Sif…" he started, but she placed her index finger on his lips.

"Don't start calling me that, please" He remembered what she had said and nodded, she pointed her head at the empty room across the hall and he followed her in.

"You are wearing your armor again" he pointed.

"Yes, I am" She said calmly, a sigh louder than she expected escaped her lips and she looked up to him "I am a warrior, after all"

"That you are" He half smiled, he studied her expression as well as her delicate features.

"I am not a delicate flower, I am not lady-like most of the time, and I can fight better than most men in the realm" she had unconsciously raised her voice "I know how to take a blow, I don't know how to deal with situations like this" Thor stood there, knowing what was coming, he had been thinking about it before she showed up "So I will only ask you to be completely honest with me and speak only the truth" Her body was betraying her, she could feel her pulse raise, her hands were sweaty and closed in tight fists, her voice about to break, her eyes barely containing the tears "Do you have feelings for that Midgardian?" She couldn't bear to ask if he loved her.

"Sif" Thor frowned; it took him a second to articulate the right words "When I was cast out, it was harder than I could ever imagine, I lost everything I knew and loved, my identity even, there I found three friends who helped me through the struggle and I am grateful for it" He took a step closer to her and held Sif's hands "During all my life I have been fortunate enough to have the right companionship. You were always there, in every battle, every game, every celebration to support me and even teach me a thing or two" He smiled and pulled her close "Jane Foster helped me come back home, but she is not the woman I love".

Sif felt her pulse race, she closed her eyes and thanked the universe silently, then she slapped him hard right across the face "She kissed you… you kissed her back!" He was still holding her close, his arm around her waist.

"She was grateful, I helped her too" He smirked charmingly.

"You're an idiot" She tried to hold back the laughter and failed, her lovely smile showed once more. "I thought I had lost you"

"Never" He said, and pulled her into a passionate kiss that made her forget why she was mad and worried in the first place.