Christie wasn't prepared for this. She knew that eventually she would have to face him again but that didn't stop her nerves from clouding her stomach as her and Thor walked through the back prison passage to Loki's cell, just like before. Loki, who could sense Thor a mile off, walked toward the energy barrier as his brother stood there. "Ah, Thor," he said bitterly. "All this time has gone and now you want to visit me? Have you come to gloat? To mock? Let me guess you're sleeping with Annerledes and she's with your child? I might as well throw it all in." Christie shook her head slowly as she heard him mention her name. This was worse than she thought it would be. She counted to five in her head and then calmly walked out of the darkness to face Loki, who was standing in his normal attire, clearly putting on a front. When he saw Christie again, his hardened eyes grew softer and he swallowed, his whole stature just completely changed. Thor was stunned by this.

"No more hiding, Loki. Just drop the act," Christie said quietly but softly. Loki nodded his head slightly and the illusion disappeared to reveal his true self in the corner of the room, his feet bleeding and his hair a mess, his clothes torn and his furniture either upturned, smashed or broken. Christie gasped and Thor looked down sadly. "My god," Christie whispered.

"Now you see me," Loki spat, his head leaning on the wall. Both Christie and Thor moved closer to the barrier. "Did she suffer?" When Loki said this, Christie couldn't even pretend like it didn't hurt.

"That's not what this is about. I didn't come here to share our grief," Thor said slowly, crossing his arms. "Instead I offer you a far richer sacrament."

"Go on," Loki mumbled.

"Vengeance. You seek it as much as I do – therefore I will grant you vengeance and then – this cell." Loki let out a fed up laugh and turned away.

"Ah you must be truly desperate to come to me for help," he muttered.

"Desperate or stupid?" Christie suddenly piped in. Loki turned to face her as if he had just remembered she was there.

"Both," Loki nodded.

"I told you this was a bad idea," Christie tugged on Thor's arm as if to say 'let's go' and when Loki saw this, his eyes grew dark.

"All of those years and you had to choose the woman that I was in love with," he hissed darkly to Thor.

"Oh stop it Loki, Jane's here, on Asgard, I'm not interested in Annerledes," Thor snapped, now getting irritated at his brother's behaviour. Christie let out a wry laugh and stared Loki straight in his eyes so deeply, that he had to actually look away.

"Are you purposely trying to start something? I haven't fallen in love with anyone else," she finally told him.

"Ah! Yes, that's why it took you all that time to visit!" Loki mocked, his index finger up in the air as if he had just come to a conclusion.

"No Loki I'm not like you, I don't just move on from someone I supposedly loved so deeply," Christie shot back, beginning to feel both hurt and angered. "You acted like I no longer existed, please remind me of what I was supposed to do?"

"Come to visit?" Loki suggested bluntly.

"Odin forbade it," Christie dismissed. "Next?"

"Snuck in somehow?" Loki persisted.

"It's really not that easy," Christie groaned, her head in her hands now, getting frustrated.

"You did the other day!" Loki exclaimed, now his body language changing again.

"And look how that turned out?" Christie scoffed.

"Mother did it," Loki hit it home.

"Yes okay does it matter? The point here is that Annerledes is with us now," Thor interrupted them both, fed up. "Time is of the essence and there is little of it left so Loki if you want to spend the rest of your days in here then that is more than fine with me." Loki turned to Christie again, not quite finished. Christie knew that it was time to choose a different tactic - being an assassin meant that she had to be able to change when she needed to.

"I loved and gave up everything for you, Loki," she whispered sadly, irritatingly feeling the emotion come back to her senses.

"Likewise," were Loki's only gentle words.

"I know that there's still the same person in there. The person that I could talk to, the person that loved to play tricks, the person that would hold me at night when nobody else could. Yeah, you've created a layer of not caring, but beneath that is you, Loki, I know it." Loki looked genuinely touched for a split second before putting on the front again.

"See now that ray of hope won't cover you today, if you betray me I will kill you," Thor cut in.

"So will I," Christie suddenly agreed, cutting herself off again. Loki suddenly smirked and leant forward slightly.

"When do we start?"

…..

As soon as Loki got out of his cell, the first thing he did, whether she wanted him to or not, was hug Christie. She didn't see it coming and neither did Thor, but she couldn't even describe how it felt to be in his arms again. The spark was clearly still there as Loki rubbed her back in smooth motions, his other hand tangled in her hair. It was almost like he had been waiting for this moment all along and it was finally here so she eventually gave in to the hug, everything she had against Loki almost disappearing – and then he let go, the smirk now coming back. "Annerledes, could you walk ahead of us to see if anyone's coming?" Thor asked her quietly, Christie then nodding in agreement and speeding up in front of them. The first person she collided with was Jen.

"Annerledes!" she exclaimed, holding her arms and her dark chestnut hair messy and curly and all over the place, her eyes wild. "So I've had a think and I've got a list on pros and cons of letting Loki out and hopefully it's not too late. Christie groaned and spun Jen around to face the other way with her shoulders so she could tell if Loki and Thor were coming.

"Jen, I'm sorry-"

"So pros of letting him out…none! Cons however the list is endless!" Jen exclaimed, shaking the list in front of her. Christie saw that Thor and Loki were now approaching behind Jen.

"Jen, please, just shut up," Christie hissed, grabbing the list as Loki raised an eyebrow.

"Why?" Jen frowned.

"Hello Jennifer," came Loki's smooth voice. Jen's eyes grew wide and she spun around, when she saw Loki standing there she jumped so hard it was almost humorous.

"Brilliant! You're out, oh life really couldn't get any better," Jen smiled brightly, really itching to slap him. "I still hate you."

"So I see," Loki winced, walking past her. "That, funnily enough, has no effect on me." Jen was ready to kick him in the shin but let out a small frustrated scream and whacked Christie over the back of the head instead before rushing off to alert Sif. Christie rubbed the back of her head in pain before running over to Thor who was now walking with a guard, who Christie knew had to be Loki. Loki then transformed Thor into Sif. "Oh brother, you do look ravishing," Loki said in mock lust.

"Charming," Christie rolled her eyes, now beginning to tie up her white-silver hair in a high ponytail, which she did every time she as ready for a mission.

"I could have you any time I wanted," Loki told Christie cheekily, making her laugh sadly.

"I wouldn't be so sure," she muttered.

"It will hurt no less when I kill you in this from." Thor suddenly told Loki as he realised that he was now a woman.

"Fine, perhaps I should try one of your new companions, since you love them oh so much," Loki suggested, changing directly into Steve Rogers himself. Christie shook her head and just then, heard something from across the hall. Two guards were coming down as Loki yapped on about righteousness through his veins.

"Shut up!" Christie hissed urgently, pushing Loki behind the pillar alongside Thor, her hand over his mouth and now very close to him.

"Well we haven't been this close in a while," Loki whispered, changing back to himself and his beautiful green eyes studying Christie's face as she glanced at Thor and waited for him to give the all clear, so when she looked back it shocked her.

"Well whose fault is that?" she asked him quietly.

"I don't know, whose?" Loki asked her innocently, both of them internally and in their heads blaming the other person for what happened in their relationship.

They both seemed to forget that they could now read each other's minds again.

A/N: These chapters are too long, I apologise, and it's hard to know where to stop.

Next chapter next week Friday!

- J xx