Chapter 21:
Pacing was quickly becoming a habit as Wilhelmina walked the floors of the control room in the SHIELD helicarrier. She, along with everyone else aboard the aerial ship was watching the monitors that captured footage of what was happening on the ground in New York. There were countless images of catastrophic destruction and the death toll was steadily rising.
As she continued to pace, the only thing that gave her a smidge of comfort was Clint. She had escorted him to his airship and was caught off guard when he had leaned down to kiss her on the cheek. It was a bold move and he did not wait for her reaction before climbing into the ship. At the time, she couldn't bring herself to overanalyze the gesture. So instead, she chose to enjoy the warm feeling that crept over her.
Now she wished that feeling could have lasted throughout this mess. Though she shared the horror of everyone around her, she felt that she was experiencing a deeper turmoil. The person that was the cause for all this unimaginable chaos was someone that she was in love with, someone she had been intimate with. There was once a point in her life where she would have abandoned all she knew to be with Loki. But now she was ashamed to say she ever knew him. Suddenly living as a noblewoman did not seem like such a bad idea, and she wished she could take it all back and start over.
Xx
Loki was in the middle of dozens of agents who were escorting his battered body to yet another cell, one he was sure would be monitored much more closely. As soon as they arrived, he saw Wilhelmina standing in a crowd of SHIELD agents. He had a talent for always being able to spot her out, even if she was in a sea of people.
It had been less than twenty four hours since he last saw her, but the way his heart raced made him feel like it had been weeks. When she saw him she did not break away from the crowd to greet him. Instead, her eyes shifted to look behind him, and then she ran.
He turned his head to follow her, and immediately wished he hadn't.
Wilhelmina had practically leapt into Thor's arms. Loki could tell by the way her shoulders shook that she was crying and to his amazement, he witnessed a few tears streak down Thor's face as well. He had never seen his Mina embrace another man and he was overcome with anger, though his fractured body would not let him move. He could do nothing but allow his body to be dragged to his cell.
And for the moment, he was forgotten.
Xx
She thought she would faint. Thor was alive, ALIVE! That fact ran through her head over and over as she tightened her arms around her friend.
"I was sick with guilt."
She smiled when she heard him laugh. "I am no god if I can be killed so easily, Mina."
"Is it over?"
"Yes. This war is over, and now its leader must be punished."
"How?"
She saw his face darken. "Loki must face Asgardian justice."
"When I was freed from Loki's control I called for Heimdall, but without the bifrost I am not sure how we can return home."
"Do not worry about it now. We must all rest and come together in the morning." He looked over her head, sensing they were being watched. "It is good to see you Mina, but it looks as though Barton is waiting for you."
Wilhelmina turned to see Barton standing close by, politely waiting his turn to see her. He was an absolute mess of cuts, bruises, and dirt and she gave Thor one last hug before walking over to him. She stopped a few feet away.
"You look terrible."
The look of shock on his face did not last long before she threw her arms around him as he lifted her off her feet, tightening the embrace.
After a while, he put her down, but kept his hands at her waist. "Tony wants to get shawarma after Loki is secure."
"What is shawarma?"
"I think its food, wanna come along?"
"No, thank you. It has been a long day and I still haven't recovered fully."
"Alright, get some rest. I'll check on you when I get back."
He kissed her cheek for the second time that day before heading out, but this time, he had brushed some of her hair behind her ear. As she watched her protector rejoin the rest of the team, she knew that she should definitely get some rest, but not before paying someone a visit first.
Xx
"Performance issues, one in every five. Wilhelmina never complained about it right?"
Even while sitting defeated in a cell that quip still got to him. Thinking back on it, he should have ripped the fool to shreds with his bare hands instead of merely throwing him through a window.
Loki's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of footsteps. When he heard the door unlock and open, he didn't look up before saying. "I wondered when you'd come."
Wilhelmina's soft voice was his oasis. "You were expecting me?"
"Of course; you are the only person I truly wanted to see."
She remained close to the door. "Why did you do this Loki?"
He looked at her and saw her arms folded across her chest, and anger in her eyes. "I told you why."
"Tell me again, I want to understand."
"I am a king, and a king is nothing without his kingdom."
"You did this for power?"
"It is my birthright Mina."
"Do not call me that! My name is Wilhelmina."
He sneered at her. "I know what your name is, and I will call you whatever I want."
She was not swayed by him in the least. "I will not stay to hear any other name."
Loki leaned back against the wall, his voice returning to calm. "Defiance was never your strong suit."
"You are not my master. I ceased being yours a year ago."
"If you are not mine, then why did you come to Midgard? Why did you come to my bed? Why visit me in this cell?"
"I did care for you once. And though we are no longer lovers, you still have a family that loves you."
"They are not my family."
"How can you reject us all so easily, as if we mean nothing to you at all?"
He was getting tired of her questions. "You were a good fuck, nothing more."
Again she did not react as he thought she would. "You told me you loved me."
"I never said that."
"You did. Right before you used the tesseract on me you said you loved me. I remember that quite clearly."
He laughed. "I lied."
Finally, she could take no more. Wilhelmina stomped across the room and bent down to bring her face very close to his. "You have destroyed every good thing in your life. You have shamed everyone that ever said they cared for you. You have allowed your pride to ruin you, all because you could not be a king! You are a monster."
He was on his feet in a flash, chains clanging. His sudden movement shocked her into taking steps away from him, but he walked forward, narrowing the distance between them.
"A monster!? You don't even know what a real monster is!"
Wilhelmina left the room and slammed the door in his face. She could hear him screaming at her through the door as she walked down the hall.
Xx
After an extremely awkward group outing for shawarma, Clint was almost excited to get back to SHIELD. Though it wasn't the waiting pain meds and a bed that caused him to hurry back, it was Wilhelmina.
He quickly showered and addressed his wounds before heading over to her assigned room. He lifted his hand to knock but stopped when he heard her sobbing. He reached for the doorknob and tried to let himself in, but the door only opened a few inches before it stopped. Her body was blocking the door.
"Who is it?"
"It's me. You okay?"
"Yes, I am fine."
"Bullshit, I'm coming in."
Wilhelmina sighed before standing up to let Clint in. They both sat on her bed and did not speak; and her sniffles were the only sounds in the room.
After a while, he had to speak. "You went to see him."
"Yes."
"Did he hurt you?"
"No.
They were quiet again but the silence ended when her sobs returned.
"I cannot go home Clint! Every person in Asgard must know what happened now. They will shame me and I will never be able to leave my house again!"
He was looking at her intensely, as if his next words would harm her in some way. "Well, what if you stayed here?"
Her tears stopped and she looked at him, completely shocked.
He spoke quickly. "Just till things cool down. I mean, this place isn't so bad though I'm sure it can't compete with Asgard. But we've got tons of other cities that aren't messed up...and some that are but we don't have to go there."
She quirked an eyebrow at him. "You want to show me these places? Show me the Earth?"
"Not the whole planet, but some of the highlights."
She stared at him for a short while before scooting closer to him and resting her head on his shoulder. "Alright."