7—

The walk to the Bifrost seemed longer than normal, Loki trying very valiantly to keep up with Thor. His brother's strides had quickened and lengthened as his excitement of returning to Earth was enveloping him. He was excited to reunite his brother with Lina. He wanted to see the look on Lina's face when she saw Loki. He wanted her to remember.

Thor had told Loki of his encounters with the princess the night before. Loki had drunk in every word like it was the most addicting thing in all of the nine realms. To hear that his love was alive and well made him swell with happiness. There was hope for them yet. His mind wandered to the ring that he was wearing on a silver chain around his neck, its weight feeling infinite.

The two brothers reached the golden dome to be greeted by Heimdall.

"Nice to see you both getting along nicely," he commented, beaming at the two men.

Thor smiled brightly and looked at Loki. A smirk had started to grow on Loki's face, but he didn't let it widen to anything more than that. He nodded and turned his attention to the opening of the Bifrost.

"How is she?" he asked Heimdall.

Heimdall followed Loki's gaze and sighed. "Good and bad. I am just very relieved to have her in my sights again."

Loki looked towards him curiously as he asked, "Why is she good and bad?" He was more concerned with the "bad" part of the sentence. Was she hurt?

"It is nothing, my lord." With that, Heimdall placed his sword in its place, allowing the Bifrost to open.

Thor took a deep breath and walked towards Loki. "Are you ready?"

Without saying a word, Loki stepped through.

+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+

The cheerful tunes of the 1940s rang through the hall down to where Lina was standing and talking to Agent Romanoff. She looked towards where the music was coming from, seeing that the door to the conference room she had been researching in earlier was open.

"I think Steve is in there," Natasha said, following Lina's curious gaze.

"Huh?" Lina replied, snapping out of her trance.

"Steve," Natasha repeated. She then pointed towards the room's open door. "Down there."

Lina nodded in understanding and blushed slightly. "Will you excuse me?"

Natasha nodded and smiled briefly before turning and walking to the main lobby area.

Lina followed the music down the hall and peered into the room where, as expected, Steve was sitting. He was looking through the newer files Lina had made. She had to admire his dedication to his job. He never let anything slip past him except for the occasional new aged reference. She didn't understand half of those either, so at least he wasn't alone.

"Knock, knock," Lina said, opening the door and walking in.

Steve looked up and smiled. "Nice of you to stop by."

She strolled over to the table and leaned against it, her hands resting on either of the two sides. "I heard the music and figured I'd come see what you were up to. I thought you were going to be training today."

"I was," he replied, leaning back in his chair. "I figured updating myself was more important."

Lina nodded as she looked around at all of the papers. Her head had been in a million different places since Fury had confronted her the day before. It bothered her that he had the privilege of knowing who she was and who she was supposed to be when she had no idea what her life was even about. What bothered her more was that his source was Thor. How could he know such important information? What if he was lying?

"You seem bothered by something," Steve interrupted, staring at Lina with longing eyes.

She looked up and immediately got lost in his eyes. They were full and curious, like a young boy's.

"It's nothing," she said. She walked towards the speakers and system that was playing the 1940s music. "Been reminiscing I hear?"

He smiled as he stood up and joined her. "I can't really say I've gotten used to the music that's popular today. I'm a sucker for the classics."

Lina nodded as she continued listening.

Steve looked around nervously. He shifted his weight a few times from foot to foot, his palms getting sweaty. He was like a young boy at his first dance: the girl he wanted to dance with just within reach and all he had to do was ask her.

"D…Do you dance?" he asked.

Lina looked up at him and shook her head. "I don't remember ever really dancing before. You?"

He looked away and shook his head. "I was supposed to learn, but…I never made it to her."

Lina nodded understandingly as she studied his face. "Do you wanna learn together?"

Steve looked towards her and smiled. "Alright," he agreed.

Taking her hand in his, he pulled her more towards the open portion of the room. She stood in front of him and he placed his hand on her waist. Like magic, the couple started to move in sync with the beat nicely, their steps matching and their bodies starting to relax as they got more comfortable with their abilities.

Lina started laughing and Steve couldn't stop smiling. She looked back into his eyes and noticed they were a lot brighter than a few moments before. Her heart was beating fast not only because of the extra exercise, but because Steve's presence made her feel that way. She had never noticed how strong he could be, but how gentle he really was. He was a gentleman, and his smile was lighting up the room. Could it be that they could—

"Excuse me," a firm voice cut in.

Steve and Lina pulled away from each other and stopped dancing, facing the door where the voice had come from. Their once agile bodies suddenly turned rigid. The music continued to play in the background and filled the awkward silence that had now developed between the group of people.

Director Fury stood at the door, amusement being the last emotion that was on his face. His expression was as hard as stone, his stance unwavering as his arms crossed over his chest.

After a few more seconds of silence, Nick started to speak. "I'm not going to ask you anything. I'm not expecting this to happen again. We have company." His voice was firm and both Lina and Steve know he meant business.

"Yes sir," they both replied in unison. Lina then turned to start gathering up the papers that were strewn all over the glass table behind her while Steve turned off the music that was still echoing through the halls.

As they did that, Fury moved on the side to allow both Thor and Loki to walk in.

Lina looked up at the two men and instantly froze, her hands letting slip every paper that she held.

"Dammit, Sparrow," Fury mumbled, shaking his head as he walked over to the window behind her.

She ignored him as her eyes flitted from Steve to Thor to this new man that she had never seen before.

Whatever feeling she felt with Steve a few minutes ago was nothing compared to the way she felt at that very moment. Her heart was beating at a million beats a minute. Her hands began to shake out of nervousness. Her stomach was full of butterflies.

Originally, Loki and Thor had walked into the room glaring at Steve. Anyone who desired to have intentions with Lina was not to be easily allowed to do so, especially when her fiancé was in the room. Soon after, though, they laid eyes on Lina. Thor had stepped off to the side and leaned against a wall parallel to the table.

Loki was unable to move or speak. After 1,000 years, there she was. She hadn't aged a day from their last meeting, her eyes still the bright brown orbs he remembered gazing into. Her features were still soft with kindness. She was everything he remembered and more.

They stood drinking in each other's appearances for a while, Thor and Fury understanding why they needed this time to re-meet each other.

Steve stood very apprehensively. He didn't like the idea of Loki returning to Earth after what had happened in New York. He wasn't his favorite person and the fact that he had so much of an impact on his newfound crush was not sitting well.

Thor noticed Steve's stance and placed a hand on his shoulder. The look he gave to Steve told him that he'd explain everything later.

Natasha, Clint, Tony, and Bruce all made their way into the room after hearing from Fury that Thor had returned with Loki, soon encountering the silence that had taken over. There was a tension that started to build as all eyes were on Loki and the girl who was frozen by his presence. The other Avengers weren't sure if he had cast a spell on her already or if she was so petrified to see him that she couldn't move.

"Miss Sparrow," Thor finally said, removing himself from his spot on the wall and walking towards his brother. He brought his arm around Loki and placed a hand on his shoulder. "This is my brother, Loki Laufeyson. He is the person I told you was going to be our resource. He knows everything that you requested of me before I left yesterday."

Lina nodded, her mind still in a daze and her eyes still on Loki's.

She snapped out of it when she heard Thor chuckle. Shaking her head, she gathered the files from the floor and placed them back on the table. Lina turned towards Loki and held out her hand. "Lina Sparrow. I'm the agent assigned to the Avengers Initiative and the lead researcher on this case."

Suddenly, it hit her like a brick as to why all of these heroes in the room were looking at Loki the way they were. He was the reason they had all come together in the first place. The death, the destruction, the Coulson…he was the reason for all of that. Yet, she wasn't afraid of him. She wasn't upset with him. She didn't even feel curious about who he was. He was familiar. Lina felt that she had been reunited with someone she had once felt great feelings for. Those feelings were definitely rushing back to her all at once.

Recalling the dream she kept having, she also recognized Loki as the dark-haired man that Thor (or who she thought to be Thor) was laughing at when she would enter the throne room. For once, she had a complete memory, even if she didn't know if it was real or not. It was something for her to hold onto.

"Shouldn't keep a lady waiting, oh Prince of Darkness," Tony called out.

Loki seemed to snap out of his daze as well. He looked back towards Tony but instead of glaring at him, he smirked casually. "Still waiting for that drink, sir."

Tony smirked, remembering the last exchange they had in Stark Tower. "If you're all done being bad and playing 'King of the World', I'd be happy to oblige. Well…not happy but it'd be a step in the right direction, I think."

Turning back to Lina, Loki started to walk towards her.

Her heart caught in her throat as he grew closer, Loki soon towering over the small girl. She felt like she couldn't breathe.

"Pleased to meet you, Miss Sparrow," Loki said to her, his voice like silk. He reached for her hand, aiming to press his lips to her knuckles.

Bright light.

Everyone had been knocked off of their feet and sent crashing into the walls, but none harder than Loki and Lina.

As soon as his skin touched hers, something happened that no one was expecting.

Everyone was groaning on the ground, recovering from the blow. Fury was the first to stand up, leaning against the table for support. Natasha was rubbing the back of her head as the shock pounded through her it. Clint had crawled over to her to see if she was alright.

Tony and Bruce sat leaning against the wall and had their eyes closed. "A little warning next time would be nice," Tony mumbled, wincing from the pain.

Steve groaned as he laid face up on the floor, his nose starting to bleed from the impact with the wall.

Thor shook the impact from his head as he stood up, immediately heading for Loki who was curled up on the ground holding his head with both hands.

In that moment, his mind had been flooded with various images of what Lina had been through while she was on Earth. He saw things like her interview, her reading the story of "Pinocchio" to herself in her bedroom, the tears she shed for her memories, and her encounter with Thor. Everything that she had to endure showed themselves to Loki within mere seconds, sending his mind into a frenzy.

"Loki," Thor said, his voice extremely concerned. He knelt next to his brother, unsure of what to do for him.

"I'm fine," Loki mumbled, eventually sitting up as the pain in his head subsided. He looked around the room to everyone's looks of pain and concern. Papers were everywhere and most of the objects were broken. "Where's Lina?" he asked, panic starting to rise within him. Everyone looked towards one another as if taking a mental headcount.

Loki looked to where she was originally standing and couldn't help but notice that the glass window that was behind her had been shattered by the energy that he and Lina had created. He stumbled over to the now open area and looked down towards the main floor. Glass shards were everywhere and people were looking up towards the room.

Their gazes didn't long, though.

Agents were soon rushing to one area just below him. Sprawled on the ground clutching her head was his little flower, screaming in pain.

+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+

He felt it. She was trying to break her mental bonds.

Chuckling, he walked over to the other side of the room he was in to stare out the window. His view was mainly of the various swirling galaxies; an eyeful for anyone who didn't get that kind of view every day.

With a flick of his wrist, an image appeared out of thin air. It was Lina, writhing in agony on the ground as various people flocked to her at the sound of her screams.

"Foolish girl," he mumbled.

Dreams in Azure: Yes, I've been trying to stick some cute things in there every once in awhile. Helps to bring out some personality in these characters :) And yes! Odin finally is being nice hehe. I'm glad you're such an avid supporter of the story! :)

Hope you all enjoy the chapter :) It's not as substance-y as the others but I'm trying not to let aaaaaall the good stuff out in one chapter :P

Can't wait to hear from you folks!

With love,
sparrowlina