thank you for reading and reviewing.
-Val
Clint had dropped his bag on Bobbi's floor and cracked his neck. He had planned to stay the weekend with her. She was caught up with business at headquarters and invited him to drink beer and wait for her. He didn't need her permission to pop open a beer and watch her television. He rarely had a chance to catch up on television shows. He only just opened a beer and sat down on the couch when his phone beeped.
He thought of just ignoring it, but his instinct told him to check just to make sure. He prayed it was just a stray email, but instead his phone rang. "SECURITY BREACH."
Clint frowned and immediately clicked the green button to see the fuss. His alarm system not only needed a password, but fingerprints to match it. If it didn't match the security system would send it to his phone. The cameras he placed around his home spotted for any sign of movement. The alarm hadn't sounded. Someone must have the password. In the kitchen camera there was nothing out of the ordinary. The living room checked out okay and so did the bedroom. He reached the front door when he saw a pale face staring back at him. She must've been fiddling with the camera because he could see nearly every pore on her face.
"Margot?" he said out loud.
The cameras signal suddenly crashed and all he saw was darkness. He placed his beer down and sent Bobbi informing her he had to run back home for a moment and he would return. He rushed out of the house and into his car. He nearly sped down the highway and barely parked in the driveway. He kept a gun into the glove compartment and tucked it under his shirt in case he had to use it.
He carefully walked to the door, wrapped his hand around the doorknob and discovered it had already been unlocked. He pushed open the door slowly. The lights were still out and the smell of smoke was faint in the room. He didn't need to wait long when he heard the click of a lighter.
He wrapped his hand around the butt of the gun and said in an assured voice. "Where are you? Show yourself."
"Clint Barton," Sigyn's voice hummed. He turned on a light to see Sigyn slumped over against the wall. She had a cigarette in between her fingers and her head was down. "Clint Barton of S.H.I.E.L.D. I've spent the last several days looking at your file. I didn't want it to be true, but it was. They even had your picture. You looked dashing."
Clint's stomach tightened. Was this her plan? To lure him in, make it look like a home invasion and kill him? He didn't pull out his gun. He didn't want to hurt her. Maybe there was a way he could talk himself out of this. She didn't look at him and her voice was still— it was almost scary. He was waiting for her to come out of her state and pounce, but she didn't.
"I—" He began. There was no way to fight this. He might as well come clean. "I was only trying to protect you. I was only looking out for you. I didn't think—if you knew—"
She looked up, but kept her eyes forward. Her voice was so soft it was almost a whisper. "You lied to me."
Clint shook his head. "I didn't lie. I would never lie. I said I worked with weapons, I never said where." The words were spilling out faster than his mind could comprehend. "I thought you would be better off not knowing what truly happened. I care about you, Margot—"
"Sigyn. Call me Sigyn." She said.
"Sigyn," He corrected himself. "I care about you. I only wanted to make everything easier for you."
"I told you my secrets and you lied to me about who you were. We were friends."
"I promise you, those stay between us. I wouldn't say anything—"
"How could I have been so stupid to trust you? I should know by now that I cannot trust anyone. Trusting people was what got me—" She paused. She couldn't say the words.
"I was only thinking of you. I had the best intentions." Clint kneeled beside her. Sigyn looked at him for the first time. Her eyes were red and there were dark circles around her pale skin. She looked like the walking dead. Her lips were shaking and he wanted to kiss her. He wanted to assure her he hadn't deceived her on purpose.
"I don't believe you. I believed you for so long." She stood up and tried to walk away. Clint hurriedly grabbed her by the arms and tried to hold her still. Sigyn struggled against him and attempted to pull herself away. She was reminded instantly of Telly's hands holding her down and groping her.
"DO NOT TOUCH ME!" She screamed ripping herself away from him. Her whole body was shaking and she felt as if she had an elephant sitting on her chest. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a pill bottle she hadn't touched since her attack. She shoved a pill in her mouth and swallowed.
"Sigyn," He said stepping forward. "I'm your friend. I hope to remain your friend. All I can tell you is I'm sorry."
"You have no idea what I've been through. You wouldn't believe it." She said. "There's no one in this world I can trust. The world is cruel isn't it? I feel so innocent."
"I—"
"Do not speak." She said. "There's nothing you can do to mend this." She pushed herself past him. She didn't look at him, but kept her eyes forward. "I do not wish to see you again. If you dare come see me or even utter a word about me, I will kill you." She opened the door and closed it quietly.
Clint sighed and dragged his hands down his face. He didn't want to say it out loud, but somehow he managed to ruin every single good relationship he was in. What could he do now except respect her wishes? He only hoped when enough time had passed he could see her again. He missed her already.
When Sigyn arrived home Loki was already asleep. She went into the children's bedrooms and kissed each of them on the forehead. She returned to her bedroom. She slipped off her shoes and jacket and curled under Loki's arm. She let herself become vulnerable for one moment and embraced him tightly. He woke up just enough to tighten his grip around him.
"You were right." She said softly. "You're always right."
"What?" he said groggily.
"You were right about us. We only have each other."
"Well, put Helena on the couch." He grumbled lightly in his sleep.
"Loki?" she said.
"I'm listening." He mumbled.
"I'll tell you in the morning." She said. "Just hold me close."
"Sure." He held her tightly and kissed her forehead. She would never make that mistake again.
Clint had spent majority of the day lying in bed with Bobbi. She had grown bored and became restless and left to get a fruit smoothie for the two of them. He barely sipped it. He couldn't get Sigyn out of his mind. He planned to spend the rest of the afternoon lying in the exact same spot, fiddling with his cell phone and praying she would call. It was the same pain he felt when Bobbi kicked him out of the house. He closed his eyes when he heard his phone ring. He nearly leaped up to snatch it when he saw it was only Victoria.
"I'm busy." He answered.
"You need to get here now. You're in big trouble." Victoria said.
"What the hell are you talking about? I'm not in the mood for this shit."
"Fury knows about you and Loki's woman. He knows she went to see you on several occasions."
"It's my day off, I'm not doing shit—" He paused. "Wait, how would he know?"
"There's no time to explain, you just need to get here, but stop by the Aquavit. Fury will be attending a breakfast meeting with several other officials. They want to praise you on your skills and Fury will late berate you. Hurry now. Get a shower and go."
"Fine, fine. I will thanks."
"Wait, I have to ask." She paused and whispered. "Did you bang her?"
"That's none of your business—"
"You sleep with everyone. Am I to assume that's a yes? I wouldn't blame you. She's hot. A little skinny for my tastes."
"What are you talking about?"
"What are you talking about?" She retorted. "I like the same things you like. I thought it was pretty obvious. Okay, now put on a nice shirt, throw on some Axe and style your hair in that usual douchebag hairstyle and impress Fury. Maybe he'll take it easy on you. By the way, was she easy?"
"I didn't sleep with her!" Clint exclaimed and forced himself out of bed. "Goodbye, Victoria."
"Goodbye, home wrecker." She said with a fit of laughter.
Clint walked into Aquavit and immediately felt out of place. Classical music was playing on the stereo and the waiters were dressed in white pressed suits and wore their hair neat and not a sign of facial hair. He didn't have time to shave and felt the stubble on his chin. The men were dressed in suits that looked the same from the other and the women wore fancy dresses and had their hair curled and straightened.
He hated rich bastards like this.
"Ah, Barton," he heard someone say. He turned his attention to the side square table with white cloth. He was tempted to start drawing on it. An older man with white hair motioned him forward. He walked toward the table and sat next to Fury who looked less than pleased to see him.
"You're late." Fury commented. Clint noticed he was the only black man in the room.
"Victoria told me at the last minute." Clint said. A waiter with blonde hair slicked back approached him with a false smile.
"Good afternoon, sir. Would you like to know our special?"
"No. Just get me a beer."
The waiter seemed surprised by his behavior, but kept up his fake facade. "We have several beers—"
"Surprise me." Clint said. "I'll have a garden salad. I probably won't eat it all." The waiter nodded and left immediately.
Two men were sitting across from him had already began to eat. He recognized the younger one sitting next to the white haired gentlemen. It was Richard Toss, the son of governor Douglas Toss. Richard made Clint happy that his mother named him Richard. The governor's son was womanizer and used everyone he could to get his own way. He was the youngest member to council S.H.I.E.L.D. It was a horrible idea in Clint's opinion.
"Victoria told you last minute?" Fury retorted. "I sent you an email last week."
"I don't check my emails." Clint confessed.
The silver haired man cleared his throat. "Mr. Barton," he said. "It's a pleasure to meet one of the Avengers who had been protecting our city."
"All in a day's work." Clint said as he received a glass of beer. He wanted a bottle. He sipped his beer and held out his hand. "I'm bad with names."
"William Grey." He replied shaking his hand.
"Thank you, Mr. Grey," he said.
Richard held his hand out. "And I'm—"
"Oh, I know who you are, Dick." Clint said with a small smile.
"Why don't we get to business?" Fury suggested. "Is that okay with you, Barton?"
"Fine with me, Fury. I figured you didn't invite me here to eat food I can barely see without a reason."
"We want to award the Avengers for their work over the past several years." Grey said. "We want to give you a medal for your achievements." The two men smiled and Fury nodded in approval.
Clint should've felt overwhelmed with joy, but he couldn't muster up the joy. He felt so cynical about S.H.I.E.L.D and even the Avengers. They had accomplished so much, but did it even matter? How much did they destroy in the process?
His garden salad was placed in front of him. The lettuce and spinach were formed like hair along cucumber eyes and a tomato nose. It was a face to him. A happy face made of barely any food. He raised his brows and nodded. "Thanks." He said, picking up his fork and stabbed into the cucumber eyes.
The three men seemed distracted by his apathy and Richard cleared his throat. "Barton, did you hear us?"
"I did, Dick. And I am happy. Believe me, I am incredibly happy." He said ironically.
They opened their mouth to say something, but they were distracted when another man approached the table.
"Osborn!" Grey said, standing up to shake his hand.
"Gentlemen, gentlemen," Osborn said. "Please, sit down and enjoy your meal. I only wanted to say hello."
Fury shifted in his seat. Fury and Osborn hated each other. Clint continued to eat his salad and hoped his name would not be brought into the conversation.
"What have you been up to?" Richard asked. "Have you lost weight?"
"Only in the face." Osborn said. He turned his head and barely nodded. "Fury."
"Osborn." Fury said.
Osborn turned back around and smiled. "Are you genlemen be attending the Don Giovanni opera this evening?"
Grey chuckled. "I wouldn't miss it. The New York Times has given the show four stars out of five. I must attend. It should be phenomenal."
"That it will be. I have great seats. I am attending with my darling Emma and my new friends. They come from an old family." Osborn motioned to their direction. Clint glanced over to see a woman with blonde hair and a white dress sitting with another couple. The man had black hair and the woman had auburn. Clint took a double take to realize that the woman in teal with a silver barrette in her hair was Sigyn. He nearly dropped the lettuce from his mouth and onto his lap.
They were associating with Osborn now? He should've known it would only be a matter of time. Fury noticed Barton's stare and his glance became harsher.
"Wonderful. What's their last name?" Grey asked.
"Rey. Serrure and Margot Rey."
"Serrure Rey?" Richard inquired. "From A&W Law firm?"
"No."
"Ah, Rey from accounting at Steel?"
"No, I don't believe so." Osborn said with a shake of his head.
"I see. Why don't you sit with us?" Grey asked.
"You know," Clint said, reaching into his wallet and pulling out a couple of hundreds that he kept. "I'm going to head out. I have some Avenger's work to—" He felt Sigyn turn her head and she was staring at him. He glanced over just briefly to see Loki doing the same. Sigyn's anger and hurt bubbled to the surface of her pale blue orbs, while Loki's was just pure wretched hatred. He was holding his butter knife like a dagger and he wanted to puncture Clint's eyes out.
"Yeah, just email me about the medal." Clint shoved his wallet in his pocket and quickly left. Osborn frowned and pointed to him with his thumb.
"Strange fellow, isn't he?" he remarked with a smirk. Fury looked up at him with his good eye and the two men exchanged hard glances.
"Have you lost your mind?" Fury berated Clint in his office. Clint had his head on his hands and shook his head.
"I think so."
"You are not only defying my orders to stay away from her, but you also are engaging in an intimate relationship with her—"
"I told Victoria, I did not sleep with her. We kissed twice that was it. It was a friendship, it was innocent!" Clint exclaimed. His nerves weren't allowing him to have a conversation other than him spitting sarcasm and wearing out his voice with screaming.
"I don't care what you told Victoria," Fury snapped back at him. "I told you to stay away from her and you defied my order."
"How would you know? Do you tap into my phone? Did you hack into my computer? Did you follow us? Is there a chip in my tooth?"
"I have my sources. You're lucky I do not fire you for this—"
Clint had enough. "Fire me! I do not care anymore. I'll find another source of income. I did what no one else was willing to do and I helped her." Fury scoffed and turned his back on Clint. "Scoff all you want, but it's true. We forced her into this mortal life and what did it do to her? It ate her up and spat her back out. She was raped, god damn it! Are you even listening?" Clint said slamming his fist on Fury's desk. "Do you even care? A woman was raped by one of your own damn agents." That caught Fury's attention. "It was fucking Michael Telly. He handcuffed her to a pole and raped her. You should've skinned Telly alive, but instead you sit at your desk and let this shit happen! I wasn't going to sit down and let this fly by my face! Did your sources tell you the intimate details?"
Clint didn't realize he was screaming so loud it had begun to draw a crowd. Victoria Hand and Pepper Potts were standing outside listening to the entire conversation. Thor and Jane Foster soon followed along with Tony Stark and Steve Rodgers.
"He ripped her open! He pissed on her and left her money for it! Did your sources happen to leave out those details? Did they? I'm talking to you, Fury—"
"I heard you!" He shouted.
Bobbi Morse and Bruce Banner were attempting to see over the crowd of heads that had gathered and Natasha had her ear pressed against the farthest corner of the door.
"I hear you, Barton! Telly will be dealt with when we have significant evidence, but we're talking about your blatant disregard for the rules."
"The rules?" Clint stammered. "Fuck the rules! The rules can go fuck themselves! This is a woman here—another being like the two of us. They're out of this world or realm, or whatever the fuck, but they're fucking living creatures. Don't they have rights? We forced them become mortals! We forced them to do this and for what? For nothing! Now they're going to be twice as rotten when they remember."
"Barton, your signature was on it!" Fury said. Both men were face-to-face and leaning forward. "You agreed to it! It was only after you had yourself a taste of Asgardian tail you decide it was wrong, but when you thought they were a threat—"
"I signed it because—" Clint did not have a rational explanation. He signed the project after Loki's first attempt to take over Midgard, but he was made to believe it was only as a last resort. "Never mind why I signed it! It was supposed to be as a last defense!"
"Things change!"
"You saw them with Osborn, who's to say they won't succeed or at least wipe out this whole organization in a Holocaust! You need to be very careful about what you do from now, Fury. You do not know who you're going to piss off!"
"You're being irrational. You developed feelings for these people and now you're out of control. If you hate it at S.H.I.E.L.D and your loyalties are to these people, then why don't you join them."
"I joined S.H.I.E.L.D because I thought you would make a difference. I wanted something different other than those crooked cops and dirty organizations like Osborn is running that hides behind generous donations. I thought we were humane. Working here has made me more cynical of this. We're doing more harm than good. It is bullshit! I'd rather join S.W.O.R.D than to work in this crooked place ever again."
Clint turned around to see all the faces staring at him. He barked at them. "What the hell are you staring at?"
They all moved out of his way in silence and he stormed off. Fury's door immediately slammed shut. The crowd began to follow Clint who started to barricade himself in an empty conference room. His hands were shaking so badly from anger he couldn't light his own cigarette or pour himself a glass of scotch.
The crowd mumbled to each other of what to say next to him without provoking him. Thor stepped forward first letting go of Jane's hand.
"Barton," He said. "Is it true? Was Sigyn—"
Clint glanced up at him. "And now you're so concerned?" he said. He clapped his hands and tossed back the glass of scotch. "Why are you so concerned now, Thor? Why you do you suddenly care about her condition? Where were you when they were starving and your brother had to work at a shitty job to put food on the table? Where were you when she needed a day to just be alone and away from the kids? But no, you spent your days with your mortal woman and now when shit has hit the fucking fan and they're flipping everyone the bird, you decie play the protective brother, get the fuck out of here. You're fake!"
"How dare you accuse the Son of Odin of being an imposter—" Thor exclaimed, but Jane touched his arm and shook her head.
Clint was so enraged he glanced his eyes over to the next possible victim. His eyes glanced to Steve who seemed more confused about the current events that had transpired. "And you Mr. Stars and Stripes, where's your sense of justice? Or are you still in the 1940's state of mind that only white, Christian males have rights that should not be violated. Bitches, Jews and niggers aren't allowed in that category?"
"You know that is not what I believe, Barton. You need to calm down." Steve replied, trying to keep a calmness in the room. "We all need to calm down."
"I am perfectly fucking calm!" Clint barked.
Tony Stark was the next to step forward. "As much as I love seeing your little temper tantrum, Katniss," Clint's eyes glanced over to the billionaire. "But there's no point on taking your frustrations out on us. You signed it to and at the time you had zero objections. Technically this is your fault as much as it is ours." Clint wanted to say something, but he was right. There was as much blood on his hands as it was anyone else's, but his redemption was that he tried to offer her a hand.
"But he brings up a good point," Bobbi said in Clint's defense with a nod. "She was raped and nothing was done about it."
"Typical." Victoria scoffed. "A woman is raped and nothing is done. How bloody typical."
"How do you know Telly did such an act?" Thor asked. Jane gave him a hard glance and he looked down at her. "I am inquiring."
"I saw him." Clint said. "That's how I know."
"You saw him do it?" Victoria asked. "And you did absolutely nothing."
"Why would I let him do it, Victoria? Use your brain." Clint snapped. "Of course I didn't see it. If I saw it, it never would've happened. I would've put an arrow through his throat. I saw her leave with him and then a couple hours later she was found injured and raped.
"Well, why didn't you tell Director Fury?" Pepper asked. He gave her a side glance and she held up her hands in defense. "Just asking."
"She refused to have anything done about it." Clint replied. "If I did it anyway, I would be disrespecting her wishes. Her husband tried to convince her otherwise, she wouldn't even tell him who did it."
"Hm," Tony said, placing his hands behind his back. "Odd."
"How is that odd?" Victoria asked, turning her head.
"Well, a crime was committed and she didn't report it. It seems fishy." He said with a raised eyebrow.
"And how is that fishy?" Bobbi asked, stepping forward and at Stark dead center in his eyes. "You don't think she was raped?"
"I'm only saying we have to look into the possibility that it might not have happened." Tony replied. The women in the room suddenly began to mumble amongst themselves. "I'm not saying that it didn't happen, but we can't hang the man before we have definite proof." he said over the mumbles that were starting to increase in volume.
"Telly was the last man that was seen with her before the rape." Pepper said. "That's not enough proof?"
"And he's been acting strange lately." Natasha added.
"So this should be brought up." Jane said. "Poor Sigyn, If we would've known—"
"Well, let's not be so quick to tie the slipknots yet, ladies." Steve said. "Innocent until proven guilty. We have to make sure we examine all the evidence we can—"
"Bullshit." Bobbi mumbled hiding behind a cough.
Bruce sighed and leaned against the wall, hoping the avoid his opinion coming up entirely.
"It's not bullshit, Ms. Morse," Steve said. "I am not implying that Telly didn't do it and I'm not implying that he did, I'm saying we have to make sure we examine all evidence first. What if she was attacked while coming back from seeing Telly? None of us were there. We do not know for a fact."
"She told me Telly did it." Clint said. Then he thought for a moment. She never implied that it was Telly. He simply inferred, but before he could correct himself Victoria motioned toward him.
"Thank you. Now let's go find the son of a bitch." She said. "I'll go get my gun."
The other women went to follow her, but Thor went to stand in front of the door. "Ladies," he said. "You heard Barton, it is not for us to decide."
"I don't care." Pepper said. "It could be someone else. What if it was one of us."
"He wouldn't dare," Natasha mumbled. "Not with me."
"Yeah," Bobbi mumbled back. "Because no one likes a fire crotch."
"Excuse me, Ms. Morse?" Natasha said turning to look at Bobbi. The other woman didn't back down. Bobbi was nose to nose with her. "If there's a problem we have here, I would like to solve it."
"I would love to solve it too, Tasha." Bobbi replied.
"We do not have to quarrel like children." Natasha crossed her arms and grit her jaw. "We can handle this verbally like women."
"Are you a little scared?" Bobbi cocked her head to the side. "Come on, if you're not scared let's go a round."
"Ladies—" Steve tried to interject.
"You of all people should know you do not intimidate me, Bobbi." Natasha's voice was eerily calm, but so was Bobbi's.
"And you do not intimidate me either. So, let's handle this."
Clint noticed Victoria looking from one woman to the other with a smile on her face. Clint couldn't help, but smile at her boldness, but he knew that a fight between the two women was not going to solve anything.
"Ladies," Tony said stepping between them. "Save this for another time we have an important matter on hand. So, he wasn't brought to justice if he did do it. Why hasn't he tried anything again?"
"Oh, he won't be interested in anyone for a long time." Clint said with a nod.
"Why are you defending him?" Natasha asked, mostly looking toward Steve and Tony. "Do you think it was okay to rape Sigyn because she's Loki's wife?"
"No, no, no," Steve said. "We were just—"
"What if that had been one of us?" Jane asked, mostly looking up at Thor. "Would that make it much worse."
"It could've easily happened to one of us." Pepper added. Victoria pursed her lips and mumbled.
"Not me."
"Ladies, chill out please." Tony replied. "It's none of our business. This is for Sigyn to decide."
"Well, why can't we at least talk about it?" Victoria added. "It's her decision, but I want to at least talk about it. Why hasn't S.H.I.E.L.D done anything about it? He has a record, you know? He hasn't gotten caught, but—"
"Oh god," Tony groaned. "Can absolutely not have this discussion?"
"We can talk about whatever we want to talk about, Stark." Bobbi added. The room began to swarm back and forth with opinions and soon the debate turned into shouts. The scotched soothed Clint's anger, but his sour mood remained. He stood up from his seat and left the room. He had to get into that opera. He wanted to make sure Osborn didn't do anything and try to bring Sigyn down with him. He could've been paranoid, but he'd rather be safe than sorry. He just needed a ticket.
He left headquarters and drove back to his apartment. He knew that Sigyn was great with computers. Maybe she was monitoring his files and reading over his emails. He suspected it was her paranoid attempt to keep her enemy closer or trying to find a weak spot to use against him. He had plenty of weak spots, but nothing that he was afraid of revealing to the world.
He opened a new document and titled it. "SIGYN-01" and began to type the words as quickly as he could.
"Sigyn,
I wanted to once again apologize for my deception toward you. I didn't mean to hurt you. I love you as a friend—maybe more than that." He looked over the first couple sentences and deleted the "maybe more than that.
"I love you as a friend and I hope to remain friends with you." He decided not to be too personal and to go straight to business. "The man your husband is associating with is not to be trusted. He is a man who has had his hands dirty in more than one way or another. I'd hate to see you be dragged into this. Please be careful, S.H.I.E.L.D suspects you're a threat and they might try to hurt you. I don't care if you respond to this. I just want you to be safe.
Clint."
He reread the document and sent it in an email to her. He hoped she would respond, but he wasn't counting on it. He distracted himself by drinking another beer and attempting to find tickets online for Don Giovanni. There was nothing. It has been sold out for weeks. There had to be a way to get inside. He had checked his folder and saw there was no reply.
He called up Victoria and was able to get tickets that someone returned last minute. She seemed in no mood to tease him and he was glad. He wasn't in the proper mood either. He fond an old tuxedo he had bought several years ago for a wedding he attended and prayed it would fit. He was nearly prepared when he checked the folder and there was no reply. He wondered if she even read it.
He sighed and continued his preparation.
Sigyn had never been in a limousine before. She always wanted to drink champagne in the back of a limo with her husband. She watched the large homes pass them by and turned back to Loki. She was already tipsy and her husband barely drank a drop. He seemed distracted, but focused. She placed her hand on his knee and slid her fingers up to reach between his legs. He smirked and placed her hand down.
"You need to cut back on the champagne." He grinned.
"Oh come on," she smirked. "Then you can tell all your friends at the bar you got a handjob in the back of a limo."
He gave her a slight smile. Would Sigyn say that? Or was this Margot speaking? She didn't know anymore and the thought was making her head spin. She didn't know how Sigyn would react. She hoped her old life wasn't her being an uptight twat to everyone. She hoped Sigyn at least had Margot's sense of humor. Unless Sigyn's sense of humor had been revealing itself and Margot was the dull one.
She kissed him and finished the last of her drink and placed down the glass. "I've had enough, I swear." She chuckled. "We've been to an opera before, haven't we?"
"Plenty of times." Loki remarked. "I can't count it on one hand. You used to love the theater."
Sigyn smiled bit at the thought and tried to remember her old life. She vaguely remembered seeing an old play with Loki. His back hair was slicked neatly back in its normal fashion and he turned to her and flashed her a smile. She also remembered wearing twelve pounds of fabric on her already skinny body. She hated the feeling of it, but she was too entranced by the story to care.
"I guess you're right." She said tempted to drink another glass of champagne. She took to drinking perhaps to calm her nerves, she still didn't tell Loki what Clint knew. She had seen him earlier and that was a shock. It was as if he was following her. It was the same feeling one would have if they ran into an ex lover. The two of them had never shared a bed, but she might as well have. He knew her inner most secrets and could turn that against her if he wished. Now there was the difficulty.
What to do with him now? Killing him would attract attention to them and incite S.H.I.E.L.D into their lives and home. If she did manage to get away with it, there was no doubt in her mind they would try to take her family away from her. She bit into her bottom lip and tried to distract herself by placing her hand on Loki's knee again.
"Sigyn," He said touching her hand.
"What?" She said. "Do not act as if you're not enjoying it." She said kissing against his smirk.
Sigyn was starting to remember some of her old life. She remembered as a goddess the parties she would have to smile and pretend to want to be acquainted with the old warriors and other gods when she would rather be at home with Loki curled up in a good book. On Midgard, she had to pretend she had come from a rich family and be confronted by every rich family Osborn knew. She was happy when the opera began and the hand shaking and persistent prying into her personal matters had stopped. The only comfort there was is that she didn't have to pay thousands of dollars for her body after bearing children like many of the other women who had their fat sucked, their lips stuffed, the skin on their faces pulled back, their hair sewn in or their breasts implanted.
She became unaware of her surroundings and leaned forward not to miss any moment of the opera. It was a compelling opera. She was fascinated with the story. The first act revolved around the main character, Don Giovanni trying to seduce the Commendatore's daughter Donna Anna. When he fails he comes upon a woman who is searching for revenge against the man who left her, which turns out to be Giovanni himself, while the servant Leporello covers for him. Giovanni escapes justice several times until the very end of the second Act when the ghost of the Commendatore (who Giovanni killed earlier in the play) invites himself to dinner with Giovanni. The Commendatore gives Giovanni one last chance to repent for his evil doing, which Giovanni refuses over and over.
Her eyes began to widen when she felt actual sympathy for Giovanni's plight. She couldn't understand why. Was it her past? Had she done something so wrong that she would sympathize with a scoundrel and a murderer like Giovanni? She searched what little she remembered and couldn't find any particular moment. Would it be something she would do? The baritone voice accused Giovanni over and over and Giovanni refused to feel an ounce of sympathy—not even for himself.
Repent! Repent! She screamed over and over in her own head. You do not know what horrors await you! Repent!
The demons dressed in red from hell had begun to surround Giovanni and there was no escape, yet Giovanni refused to repent for anything. The Commendatore gave him one last chance, but once again he refused. In a cloud of smoke with red and orange lights used to represent Giovanni's descent into hell, he fell with the demons into hell.
His servant, Leporello was left to hide under the table after witnessing the horrors that had just unfolded. Sigyn's adrenaline was pumping and she turned to Loki who had turned pale himself. "Are you okay?" She asked him.
His eyes glanced to her and he nodded. "Yes, I am fine." He said. He didn't sound fine. She took his hand in hers and he silently squeezed it.
Clint was watching them from above. He normally would've fallen asleep in an opera. He didn't understand what they were saying and the pacing was usually so slow, but from his seat squished between a boney woman and on the other side, an old man who smelled of cologne, he could see Sigyn staring at the stage entranced. He had remained anonymous in the crowd and only watched her. He had a bad feeling in his gut that something was going to happen. He just couldn't explain it.
When the theater had begun to empty he followed the crowd and walked ahead, hoping he could get a glance at her or at least hope nothing mischievous was at work. She was on the arm of Loki when he saw someone walking toward them in a hurry. He looked as if he were security. He pushed past everyone to get close to Loki or Sigyn. Clint's instinct was to protect her.
He rushed after the man and before he could get close enough for them to notice, Clint grabbed him by the collar and pulled him along. The man had a particular odor about him. It was a mixture of body odor and expensive scotch. He slammed the man against an abandoned wall and got a good look at him.
He was a tall man, only an inch above Clint with dark hair. "Telly?" Clint said.
"Barton—"
Before he could speak Clint punched him in the stomach until he hunched over. He slammed the man into the wall over and over and held his head up.
"What the hell are you doing here?"
"I'm settling a score." He said through gritted teeth.
"A score?"
Telly held up his bandaged fingers and bit his bottom lip. "Yes, a score." He nodded.
"Between who?"
"Loki and Sigyn?" he asked. Telly nodded. "How did you find them here? You're going to have your cover blown, they'll fucking kill you." The other man shrugged his shoulders. The bastard didn't even have the balls to do it himself.
"S.H.I.E.L.D keeps a tight watch on all their little experiments." Telly mumbled. "Why do you think they know everything?"
Clint slammed him against the wall. "What did you use?" Telly gave him a smirk. How could he threaten someone who wasn't afraid to die anymore? He would welcome death eagerly. Clint pressed onto Telly's throat hard enough to apply pressure, but not to hurt him. Telly tried to remain calm as Clint's fingers squeezed into Telly's throat.
Telly coughed and managed to spit out a gargle of words. "Alright, alright." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a device that resembled a phone. "Every prisoner has a chip within them and every so often S.H.I.E.L.D will check up on them, to see where they are and what they've been doing."
"Christ," Clint said, taking the device. "Where is the chip?"
"You mean you don't know?" he asked. "Everyone has them. Everyone."
He turned over his shoulder to see Sigyn and Loki associating with other mortals, but eventually leaving. He turned back to Telly. "I hope they do kill you. If I were you, I'd find somewhere to hide."
"You do not know the full story, Barton."
"Yes, I do." Clint said heavily. "I know every single horrid detail. I am happy they ripped your bloody nails off. How does it feel to live in utter fear for your life? Not good, hm?"
"I don't think Fury would be happy to hear that." Telly hummed.
"Fury is no longer my concern." Clint said. "You can tell Fury whatever you wish. I would just hate to be you when the Laufeyson's don't need you anymore. I hope they make it sow and painful." He said, turning on his heel on his way to make it back to S.H.I.E.L.D headquarters and find a way to remove the chip.
A few days later Sigyn had seen the email she had received from Barton. He warned her about what S.H.I.E.L.D planned to do. She didn't know what to say to it. She had no wish to speak to him ever again, so she stared at the email for several minutes before closing out of her email. Noah waddled toward her and held up one his toy blocks for her. He gave her a toothy grin and she took it.
"Is this for me?"
"Yeah." He said. He was speaking faster than most children she had seen. It was a relief to her. She kissed him and took the block and placed it on her desk.
"Thank you." She smiled. Noah toddled back to play with Helena and her dolls. Their phone began to ring. Victor rushed to the phone and picked it up.
"Hello, what do you want?" Victor asked. Sigyn snorted from the other side of the room and decided to do some online shopping. "He's here. Who's calling?" Victor was silent for several seconds and cocked his head. "So, you're my uncle?"
Sigyn's brow furrowed and she mouthed to Victor. "Who is it?" she asked.
Victor shrugged his shoulders. "Alright, hang on." He placed the phone down and rushed to the other room. "Hey, dad! Someone is waiting on the phone for you. A Thor or something."
Sigyn was so distracted, she didn't notice Helena walk over and pick up the phone.
"Hi." She said. "Who is this?" She was silent for a moment. "No, this Helena." Sigyn motioned for Helena to place the phone down and walked to the bedroom. Loki seemed concerned and whispered to Sigyn.
"Why would Thor call here?" he asked her.
"I don't know. Do you want to take the call or not? Helena got on the phone and you know that means he won't be able to get away for at least another hour."
Victor frowned up at them. "Who is Thor?" he asked.
"No one, go outside and play." Loki said. "I have to talk to your mum." Victor huffed and made his way down the stairs. Loki waited until the boy had made his way around the corner before Loki said. "I think he's trying to reach out. Maybe say he's sorry."
"For? What happened?" Sigyn asked. She couldn't help, but think that Clint had opened his fat mouth about them. That would explain the email. "Loki—" she began.
"I'll talk to him, see what he wants. This better be worth the time and effort."
He picked up the phone and heard Helena's voice on the other side. "And then we went to the movies and I had Skittles. Noah kept stealing them though. Did daddy steal your candy?"
"Sometimes." Thor chuckled.
"Do you have a wife or a baby?"
"Yes, I do. Both."
"What's your wife's name?"
"Jane."
"What's your baby's name?"
"Helena," Loki interrupted. "Get off the phone."
"But I'm not done talking." She whined.
"Get off the phone."
"Fine." He could hear Noah babble close to the phone. "Bye Uncle Thor." She said.
"Bye Helena. Be a good girl."
"I will." She said and hung up the phone.
Loki remained silent on the other end and so was Thor. Even from a distance, the air was thick between them. Thor cleared his throat and Loki sat down on the edge of the bed. Thor was the first to speak.
"Brother?" he said.
"Yes?"
"You have lovely children. How many do you have?"
"Three."
"Wonderful." He said. "They must make you happy."
"They are one of the few things that make me happy in this life." He said honestly.
"I'm sorry to—"
"How did you get this number?" Loki asked cutting off his foster brother. Thor sighed heavily and was silent for a few seconds.
"Jane helped me find it. I wanted to apologize, brother. But you do not know the circumstances that I had to do this."
"Do you realize that you ruined everything?" Loki asked. Sigyn placed a hand on his shoulder and ran her hand up and down his back. "Everything had been taken from me. My power, my memories, did you know I had to live in utter poverty."
"I know, brother. I was assured nothing horrible would come to you or your wife. Barton told us everything that happened and I'm sorry. I truly am. There was no other way to reach you."
"What does Barton have to do with this?" Loki asked. Sigyn felt the muscles tightened and her heart began to thump loudly.
"Barton knows a lot about what transpired over several months, brother."
"Does he?" Loki asked, looking up at Sigyn. "What does he know?"
"A lot. The poverty, the rape of your wife and I'm sure there's more. I don't want this to be the end of our relationship. You are my brother and you always will be. I only did what I thought was best at the time."
"I see." Loki said, running his hand down his cheek. His eyes never left Sigyn's. "There is plenty to discuss, brother, but I have no wish to speak with you any longer about the matter."
"Brother, please—"
"You've lived a comfortable life with that woman and now she has given you a child. Enjoy your own happiness while you still can."
"Loki, no—"
"Goodbye, brother."
He hung up the phone and covered his head with his hands. Sigyn didn't know what to say. He felt a deep sense of betrayal. She confided with him about everything. He was an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D and she trusted him.
"Loki—" Sigyn began. He held his hand up.
"Close the door." He said darkly.
"Loki—" She said feeling tears come down her eyes. What was he going to do? She knew that look on his face, but she'd never been at the receiving end of it before.
"Shut the damned door." He said. He kept his hands together. It was the only thing keeping him from wanting to shake her. She closed the door, but kept her distance.
"I'll ask you again, did you or did you not sleep with him?"
"Are you going to believe what I say?" She asked. "Or are you waiting for me to admit to something I did not do."
"Answer me."
"I did not! I told you I did not. The only man I've slept with over all these long years has been you." She kept getting memories of when she was a young woman and there was a younger man there to. Their relationship had drifted toward fondling and the occasional intimate genital kissing. She remembered doing the same with Loki when they were mere adolescents, but she couldn't remember treading outside the marriage.
"So why have you been telling him everything?" he asked. "What else have you told him and why couldn't you tell me this?"
"I didn't know—I didn't—I didn't know why I did. I was so stupid. I know I should not have done that and I am so sorry."
"And he's been telling everyone this."
"What?" Sigyn asked. She ran her fingers through her hair and slumped to the floor. "I don't know what to say except sorry."
"Well, now we have to undo this damage." He said. "The only way to do so is to get your memory back."
"How? It doesn't come to me when I want it to, it just happens."
"I know." He said. "We have to go right to the source of where this all started. We have to go to S.H.I.E.L.D, hopefully that will trigger something within you."
"Loki," she said wiping away her tears. "Can you forgive me? I was being stupid, but I know the truth now, I know that I can only trust you. We only have each other."
Loki gave her a hard look, but looked away. "I'll go make dinner." He said getting up to leave the room without another word being said.
Clint noticed that she had read his email, but hadn't responded to it. He sighed and stared at the empty document to begin his second email. She read it obviously and at least she didn't delete it automatically. He was grateful for that.
"Sigyn,
I know you have no interest in speaking with me and I am not trying to pressure you into doing so, but I do know that S.H.I.E.L.D has a track on you and Loki. I am looking at the device as I type this. I am trying to figure out a way to detect it and I'm sure there's a device somewhere. I only need you to contact me and I can take it out for you. Please email me back as soon as possible.
Clint."
He looked it over again and then sent it to her. He hoped she would take his device, but after that what then? What would they do? Would they try to leave the realm? How could they without any powers? Was their memory the source of their power?
He rubbed his temples and leaned on his desk. He heard a knock on the door and footsteps entered. He hoped it was Bobbi it was easy to unwind with her in the room. He reminded himself to text her so they could get lunch together. They barely talked over the last couple of days.
"Great job, el blanco niño," Victoria snapped. It was just the warm and comforting person he wanted to hear from.
"Jesus Christ, Victoria, what do you want?" he groaned.
She slammed her fist on the desk and emphasized every syllable. "You might as well have set every single one of our balls on fire! You are not only fraternizing with the enemy, a very beautiful enemy, and now I can see the temptation—"
"She's pretty sexy isn't she?" Clint smiled. He had a feeling this was what Telly told Fury. He should've cared a lot. S.H.I.E.L.D was his bread and butter, but he would have enough money to last him for a while before he began to search for another job if it ever came to it.
"That's not the point, you stupid idiot!" Victoria snapped. "You men have two heads and you think with the one between your legs! I don't understand how your girlfriends deal with you! You're all idiots!"
"Is this about Sigyn by any chance?" he asked. "Because if not, I'd rather not get the ranting from Fury."
"You are so stupid! You've given her classified information and now she knows."
"What?" Clint asked.
"YES! We gave you the benefit of the doubt. We gave you some rope, a lot of rope and you hung us with it!"
"I didn't tell her anything about S.H.I.E.L.D, someone is lying."
"That's what Fury told me. He wouldn't tell me my sources."
Clint thought for a moment and began to chuckle. "Fucking, Telly. I saw him at the opera house, he was going to kill Sigyn and Loki."
"He was at the opera house?" Victoria asked. "You saw him there? Well what were you doing there?"
"Seeing the opera."
"Somehow I doubt that." She grumbled. "Go to Fury's office."
Clint sighed, closed his laptop and got up from his desk. He walked the hallways of the headquarters. He passed by to see Bobbi at her desk reading some information. He was tempted to drop in and say hi, but she looked too distracted with her work to be bothered with. He walked into Fury's office.
"Look, Fury I—"
"Take a seat."
Clint did so and began again. "Fury, I didn't tell Sigyn anything. Telly is obviously lying to cover his own ass. He tried to kill her—"
"I am well aware of who Telly is, we just don't have the proof yet. I can't remove someone unless the Council has a good reason to, but I need to know more about Sigyn. I need to know everything there is to know about her including her history."
"Director," he said. He was torn now. He swore he would never utter a word about her, but he obviously let on too much when he went on his enraged rant. "I don't know. I can't tell you much."
"Well, one thing for certain is, I have reason to believe Loki is gaining or has gained full memory of who he is. Thor told us that Karnilla only promised that her curse would work to keep their powers at bay was that they would not remember. Now, she mentioned that if they have a breaking point there is a possibility they could become aware of everything. I assume Loki has reached his."
Clint nodded. "Yeah. It's Sigyn. He loves her more than his own life, you know that, Fury."
"So what's Sigyn's?" He asked.
Clint shrugged. "I don't know."
"Yes, you do." Fury replied. "This is not only for the safety of others, but for her safety as well. Loki and Sigyn have been a pain in my ass, but I would never wish harm onto them or innocent children, but I need your help and we can help them."
Clint pursed his lips together and said in a quiet voice. "Her children. It's her children." He revisited what she had said before. "She said that if she were to lose her children, she would go insane. I've seen her with them. She loves them more than her life."
"Then we need to make sure that nothing happens to those kids." Fury said. "See if you can get in contact with her."
Clint looked up and shook his head. "So you can wipe their memories again?"
"No, not at all. We'll put them in a safe location, I promise."
"I have your word?" Clint asked.
"Yes."
The two men shook hands, but Clint still wasn't satisfied with the arrangement. He knew Sigyn and Loki. They wouldn't go peacefully, not to the hands of their former captives. They were going to put up a fight and a hard one at that.