Magda can hardly wait through the following day. She goes to work. She tries to focus on her clients, but every time she sits down to do paperwork, she gives up.

"What's up, Mags? You're about ready to vibrate out of your chair," Shelly asks over lunch, "And I've never seen you pick at a curry like this. Woman, you need to eat!"

Magda smiles and pushes the peas into a pile, "Wanda is returning home from her mission today. This evening. I received a confirmation message this morning. She and Thor will be here by supper."

"Oh, wow, that's great! Didn't you say there was some trouble with this one?"

"Yes. A difficult object to retrieve. And she went missing for quite some time."

"Holy shit, you didn't tell me that part."

"I did not wish to alarm anyone."

"Your woman goes missing and you don't say anything because you don't want to 'alarm' me? Mags, for real, since when has someone disappearing been something we can't handle? We deal with families in war zones and deportations every week."

"True, true."

"So you were just like our clients- the ones trying to figure out if someone's still alive back in Syria or something. Like the lucky ones that find them."

"Yes. Very lucky. Especially given what I know of her mission."

"That scary?"

"Potentially, yes."

"Damn, Mags, you've got to tell me this stuff. No wonder you were so quiet these past few weeks."

"It has been difficult."

"No shit. You going to celebrate tonight?"

"Quietly, yes. I do not want to overwhelm her."

"Well I hope you have a great time together. God knows you need some fun after all this."

At the bookshop, Loki tries to focus, but is having a difficult time. He throws himself into making sure the shelves are organized, trying to stay on his feet as much as he can so he does not get distracted. But it happens anyway and he finds himself in the office making tea a little more often than usual.

Ralph is amused, "You're practically floating, son. And given the amount of tea you've had, that's not surprising. There's only a half hour left before we close. Go on home and get ready for your friend."

"Are you certain?"

"Yeah. Run along. Take the tea with you."

Loki grabs his bag, thanks Ralph, and hurries home, mug in hand.

Magda comes home a little early, too. She can't figure out what to do, so she cleans the kitchen, bakes, and cleans the kitchen again. She checks the time, puts on water for tea, and then stops, drumming her fingers on the counter. She should start supper. She checks the time again and starts chopping vegetables to throw in the Dutch oven with sauerkraut and sausage. She works quickly and puts it in the oven. Again, the time. Then she sits by the front window and waits impatiently.

Loki hasn't even tried to occupy himself productively. He has texted Alexi, made more tea, and fidgeted ever since returning home. He checks his phone and realizes they are getting close to when Wanda is set to arrive. He hovers by the window.

A little red Trabant putters to a stop outside the row houses. Loki is out the door. Magda meets him on his step, grabs his arm, and runs with him toward the car. Wanda steps out and dashes to them. The three embrace, kissing cheeks, laughing and crying. Thor waits, watching, giving them space.

"Oh god, my darling, I have been so worried."

"I missed you, too. And Loki, I was so worried about how you would handle this."

"Me?"

"Yes, you." She places a hand against his cheek, wiping an errant tear, "You have lost far too much already."

"We held hope for one another. Magda's faith in your return was sustaining."

"She is a rock."

"Do not think my steadfastness means I was not petrified, love. It took so long for them to return you to us."

"Yes, far too long."

"Shall we go inside? I have baked." She slips an arm around Wanda's waist and leads her to the house, "Come, my friends, supper is in the oven."

Thor wraps his arm around Loki's shoulders, "Brother! It is good to see you. You look well. As though you have finally fully recovered from your ordeals."

"Thank you. You do not look harmed from your recent mission. Did the team fare well?"

"Mostly. There were stitches for some. I will tell you more when we are safely inside."

The couch is too small for four people, so they sit on the floor, Wanda between Magda and Loki, Thor staying close to his brother.

"So what happened? What kept you from home for so long?" Magda asks.

"They trapped me. They used the time stone to pull me into a rock concert and then dragged me from there to the base, but sometime different. I do not know when. It was busy, bustling, and they told me that they had Pietro. I thought perhaps we were long in our past, but no. And they told me that if I wanted him to stay living, I would do as they asked. I could not risk losing him again, even though they hardly let us see one another. And then we were attacked."

Thor continues, "I do not understand how the time stone works. I think she was taken to when the base was active before our arrival. She was there for a time, then moved and brought to our own time. We detected the energy surge that brought them forward and were able to find them. You were right, Loki. It took a great power to use the stone. We planned our attack on their location, but things were not to go smoothly there, either. For as we readied ourselves, other soldiers flooded through a portal in what appeared to be a laboratory."

"Pietro and I were terrified. We did not know who or what these creatures were. They slaughtered all those in their path, searching for something. We knew what. We ran. I did not try to find the stone. It was madness and I wanted to survive, not to die for an artefact. But Pietro, with his speed, yanked it's box from the machine they held it in and he grabbed me. We had no idea how to get out, nor could we use the stone. But then the Avengers made their entrance."

"Our rescue was daring, but the creatures we encountered were merciless. They were not so unlike the Chitauri in form. Not quite the same, though. In the madness, Pietro was knocked to the ground. One of them grabbed the box, dealt him a blow that rendered him unconscious, and they fled quickly back to the portal. The time stone is beyond our means to acquire it. I have alerted Asgard, but I do not know where it will appear."

Loki sighs, "I know the creatures of which you speak. They are Chitauri, just a different version of them. Thanos sent his first-made Chitauri to New York- a weaker species that he thought would easily follow me and still take this world with little effort. They were not the only ones he created. It is likely Thanos now has the time stone."

"In what realm should we seek him, Brother?"

"No realm. He lives between worlds and he sends others to do his bidding. I did not deal directly with him. I can tell you little about the being called The Mad Titan."

"He will resurface. There are other stones to acquire. Asgard has increased security around the Tesseract. I have asked Sif to take the Warriors Three to assess the state of the Aether. There is word that there may be a stone on a planet named Xandar. And, of course, there is one embedded in Vision. Thanos merely has to figure out how to collect the sixth and these and he will assemble his gauntlet. After, of course, he takes it from Asgard."

"There are two. Thanos may have knowledge of the location of the other."

"But there are only six stones."

"Yes, and all he needs is one complete gauntlet to bring a reign of death. It's partner can be decorated with false stones as a decoy. A despotic universe destroying overlord must be properly accessorized."

Thor's brow furrows, "How do you know this?"

"Because when one is hanging upside down and backwards so that one may be lashed by a creature with razor edged tentacles instead of arms, listening incredibly intently to the being that brought you to that place argue with a woman is the only thing to do to keep from going completely insane."

"What?!"

"'There are more things in heaven and earth, Thor, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.'"

"I do not understand. These things happened to you? When?"

"When I fell. There are strange things beyond what you know as your universe. Devious. Some wicked. Others merely existing. Things you have never seen. Some of them I hope you never do."

"You have never told me of these things."

"That is because I would like very much to forget them."

"But would it not help-"

"No, Thor, it would not. Please, not tonight. Wanda is home. We are about to have a lovely supper together. We can speak of unpleasant things at another time."

Wanda snuggles against him, "And there is plenty of time. When you are ready, all of us will be here for you."

"Thank you. May I ask you something about your imprisonment?"

"Yes?"

"How did they have Pietro? And is he who you remember him to be?"

"When he was brought back from Sokovia, his body was taken to a secure facility for medical treatment. It never arrived. Someone intercepted it and they never told me."

"Have they had him for years, or did they go back and get him?"

"It appears that they have had him for years. He spoke little of his capture. Like you, he needs time. But he was very much my Pietro." Loki does not pry, but he knows that there is something she isn't telling him. He knows that it would be impossible for Pietro to be the same person he was before. HYDRA would never let him simply return without any sort of torment or even brainwashing after he fought with the Avengers. He feels Thor gently squeeze his shoulders and knows he is right.

Magda checks the time and stands, "Come, to the table. Supper is about ready. And do not complain about standing up, young lady. Even once returned, you have not eaten a proper meal- there is no one who can cook like I can."

"That is because you cook like a Sokovian grandmother!" Wanda laughs as she follows Magda to the table.

"That is because I learned from one!"

Thor rises and offers Loki a hand, "Shall we?"

"Yes, of course." He refuses to let go of his brother's hand.

They have a long, happy supper; they joke and laugh as though Wanda had not been missing from their lives for a month. They drink wine and giggle over ice cream and cinnamon bread. And when it is late, Thor and Loki get ready to go next door.

Thor waits as Loki hugs Wanda; they stand close, foreheads touching, arms around one another, "I am so glad you are back."

"I know. I am, too. And I am glad you are OK."

"They did not hurt you?"

She brushes his cheek, trying to reassure both with soft words and fingertips, "It was nothing. I am fine. Now go and rest, my friend. You have worried far too many nights. You do not have to anymore. I am safe."

She steps back and he walks to Thor, "Good night, my dear sisters. Rest well."