They all couldn't fit in Jane's car, of course, so a taxi was called and Ronan was shoved into it, along with Loki. It appeared as though Jane trusted Ronan with the god, which made sense, and Darcy and Selvig didn't want to get close to Loki, which also made sense. It was awkward, though, as every other time with Loki he had someone else as a buffer. This time, there was no glass prison separating them, no person acting as a buffer, and it was...awkward. Weird. Ronan wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not.

Also, the fact that Loki was still in his Asgardian armour was earning them sceptical looks from the cab driver through the windshield mirror.

Ronan, fortunately, had time to change back into normal clothes, and he was relieved to be wearing worn down, knock off converse and jeans that were wearing through at the knees. He felt comfortable, more like Ronan than some stranger he didn't know.

He had to admit he was relieved when they reached Greenwich, and he was assigned two of the posts that Selvig had designed and he ran off to plant them while Darcy went the other way with her own. Ronan assumed they had more time than expected, and he thanked his luck for that. He could feel it again, roiling around inside him like a turbulent ocean, and he glanced towards the sky. They were close, he could feel it, and it seemed like his power could sense it, too, and it was itching to be used.

The first device was close to the river Thames, and went in easily. Ronan caught sight of Darcy doing the same across the quad before he was moving again to reach his next location. He had the same bad feeling he'd had at the construction site - he didn't have much time left.

Ronan shoved the second device into the earth, huffing as he made sure it was secure.

"You realise if this doesn't work we'll all probably die." Ronan rolled his eyes at Loki's drawl and he turned. He didn't jump when he realised how close Loki was - no, of course he didn't.

"Gotta have a bit of faith, then." Ronan blew a loose curl out of his eyes, frowning when it returned to obscure his vision stubbornly. "Believe that it will work."

"What good does belief do?"

"It got you out of prison." Ronan pointed out and Loki froze.

"I tried to kill you." He pointed out, his voice stunned and full of disbelief. "Back in the tower. I held a knife to your neck...and yet…"

"You didn't kill me. I knew you wouldn't." Ronan said. "Good thing you didn't, otherwise Jane might be dead and Asgard would burn."

"I care not."

"But you do." Ronan shook his head, smiling slightly. "Too much. For your brother, Frigga, even Odin."

"You." Ronan did jump at the single word that came from Loki. His green eyes met Ronan's and Ronan bit his tongue when Loki took a step forward.

"...I…"

"You think so little of yourself." Loki's voice was a whisper, barely there. "I could have pretended to die back there. Used my tricks to get back to Asgard, killed Odin, taken the throne. But I didn't, because you...you were crying." He sounded frustrated at that. "I couldn't stand it. You have sway over me."

"...I'm just a mortal. I...I'm just Ronan."

"And, Just Ronan, it is you who makes me stay my hand, you who makes me question my actions." Loki reached out a hand, and it took all of Ronan's strength to not startle when it touched his cheek. "Who makes me better."

"You said you hated me." Ronan swallowed. "You...you…"

The look on the god's face caused Ronan to trail off, staring. Loki rolled his eyes, and then he did the one thing Ronan had not expected.

Loki leaned forward and kissed him.

It wasn't deep, or particularly clean, but it was desperate and passionate and real. Ronan felt himself gasp, and Loki took that as a sign to deepen it. Hands came to Ronan's waist, pulling him closer and Ronan let himself relax, melt into it.

For a few seconds, the world fell away, and it was just him and Loki and those lips on his.

When Loki pulled away, Ronan was dazed. He couldn't form words.

"You've stopped talking." Loki said, sounding impossibly fond and smug. "For once." Ronan rolled his eyes.

"Was that a 'you might die and I might as well do it' kiss, or a 'I want to be with you' kiss?" Ronan asked.

Another kiss, short and chaste and achingly tender, was brushed across his lips.

"You're clever. Work it out." Loki whispered, and then he was gone, leaving Ronan reeling.

He raised his fingers to his lips, still tingling, and he smiled.

His joy was short lived, however, when Malekith's ship reappeared.

It was just as big as imposing as Ronan could remember on Svartalfheim, especially as it cut through the earth. He had enough thought to think that villainous people had no regard for the destruction caused to cities or famous sites before he found himself moving out of the way of probable death, pulled aside by a panicked Darcy and away from the civilians running from the ground that was being churned up. He managed to reach into the pocket of his hoodie and drew out the knife that he'd stashed there. Darcy's eyes grew wide.

"Why do you have a knife?"

"Thor." Ronan managed, peering around the side of the building they'd used as cover.

He could see the realms, now, in the sky. It reminded him, vaguely, of how they'd described the planar spheres in one of the Dungeons and Dragons podcasts he'd listened to - large, circular plates which allowed a glimpse of what lay on the other side. Only, those had been linked to gemstones - in these, Ronan could see fields and bubbling lava and ice and black dust. He could see the other realms, and he could feel his power, his blood bubbling.

He could also see Malekith, and with the knowledge of the aether flowing in his veins, using himself as a host, Ronan thought he looked ten times more menacing than before - his skin looked darker, his eyes glinting red if he squinted hard enough.

Though Thor landing in front of Malekith and challenging him was what garnered most of Ronan's attention, he could see Loki out the corner of his eye, could see the green light around his fingers, working his magic. What, exactly, that entailed Ronan would probably find out at a later date, especially as Malekith and Thor went to battle, with Malekith blasting Thor back with the black sand that marked the aether. It obviously wasn't sand, but it was the best way Ronan could describe it, and it sent Thor flying.

More elves were coming out of the ship, a small army, and Ronan resisted the urge to bite his nails. He'd already bitten them down to the wick - he had none left to bite.

And then they vanished. Or at least, a good amount of then did. He blinked and Darcy swore, voice tinged with awe.

"Holy shit!" Darcy let out a slightly delirious laugh, phone held to her ear. "Jane, how did you do that?!"

"The gravitational fields interact with the weak points between worlds…" Ronan could just about hear Jane's voice through Darcy's phone if he concentrated hard enough.

"Oooh, get that group!" Darcy gestured pointlessly to a small group heading towards them. Two seconds later, Ronan was displaced to just outside the grassy area, Darcy at his side. "What -" Her question trailed off into a panicked yell as a small group of dark elves began to climb over cars to reach them, and Ronan drew the knife from his pocket.

When asked later, Ronan wouldn't be able to explain how it happened. He thought he heard a yell that sounded like Loki before the elves were close enough to harm them.

It felt like someone had possessed him, the knife digging into the neck of the first elf that got too close, slicing through it's throat and spraying blood, before her spun on his foot and buried the knife to the hilt in the gut of one who had tried to sneak up on him.

He felt powerful, invincible, barely felt the blow from another elf, instead blocking the intended punch with his arm. Adrenaline, he thought, or luck. So much luck that it granted him abilities to keep him alive. How very fortunate.

It was Loki who killed the final elf as Ronan pulled his knife out of the elf he had killed and, instinctively, turned and held the knife to Loki's throat. The two of them were panting heavily, and Ronan should not have noticed how blown out Loki's eyes had gotten, lips slightly parted. A flash of pink when his tongue darted out to wet them.

"Well, this is a change of pace." He said, and there was a clearing of his throat when Loki's voice came out slightly gravelly. "I assure you, you don't need to kill me. Your eyes have gone gold." Ronan lowered the knife.

"They've what?"

"Holy shit!" Darcy exclaimed, and Ronan may have forgotten about her, turning to catch her wide eyed gaze. "What the hell was that?"

"I don't know?" It trailed off into a question.

"The convergence is nearly at its peak." Loki murmured. "That would be it - but I wouldn't risk that again. We need to get you somewhere safe."

"Safe." Ronan swallowed, suddenly aware of the trembling of his hands, the blood on his hands and the blade of his knife. "Safe sounds...good." Loki raised a hand, his thumb brushing Ronan's cheek bone.

"I'll keep you safe." Loki whispered. "I promise."

"Uh, guys?" Darcy's voice cut through their bubble yet again. "We should move. Like, now." Her voice had gone panicky, and Ronan and Loki turned to follow her gaze. They locked on the small horde of dark elves coming towards them and exchanged a look.

"Run?" Ronan asked, and Loki nodded.

"Smartest choice." And they ran.

XoooX

The end was...not as spectacular as Ronan expected. There would be cleanup, obviously, but the ship had vanished into another realm, so the biggest issue was mostly sorted. There was a moment, where Ronan had thought Thor was going to die, and Jane was going to follow him, but the last of the convergence had caused a portal to form over them, and the ship that was going to crush them had fallen through it.

They had immediately relocated to the rented apartment, and Ronan had called dibs on the shower, which he was immediately glad of. He was covered in dirt and grime and blood. He also felt bone weary, like he might collapse at any second, and leaned heavily against the shower tiles as water battered him, heating his aching muscles. Now his luck was gone, or the massive surge of it anyway, all the aches and pains were returning at full force. He shouldn't have fought those last few elves - his entire being was screaming in protest.

When Ronan stumbled out of the bedroom, having changed into some old jogging bottoms and a different hoodie, his hair still dripping wet, Jane rested a hand on his shoulder.

"You look exhausted." She murmured, and Ronan sighed.

"Too much luck at once. I just need to sleep for a couple of days." He said, before promptly collapsing onto the sofa and blacking out for a bit.

He awoke to find himself repositioned to laying down, his head on someone's lap. It was a surprisingly comfy place to rest his head, and kept his eyes closed. It felt much too tiring to try and open his eyes, to move from his position. Someone was running a hand through his hair, scratching against his scalp lightly, and he let out a content murmur. The chuckle that sounded was familiar, but Ronan couldn't find it in himself to pinpoint who it was exactly because the scritching had stopped and that was unforgivable. Ronan managed to crack open an eye and give Loki a scathing look. The god was just smiling at him, a small, almost unidentifiable thing, but it was all in the eyes.

"Sleep well?"

"How long was I out for?" Ronan managed to ask, maneuvering himself so he was sitting on the sofa. He nearly pitched himself too far forward, but Loki's hands were on his shoulders, steadying him.

"A few hours." Loki responded, and his brows furrowed slightly.

"I know that look." Ronan muttered. He'd seen it on doctors and on his father's face and policemen. Bad news. It always meant hard truths and Ronan wanted to forget about hard truths for a moment. But he couldn't, not really, not after...everything. Not when it was a look on Loki's face, especially when he was supposed to be in jail. "Ok, just...tell me."

"I have to return to Asgard." It came out in a rush of breath, and Ronan felt like he'd just been punched. It was only then he realised the room was empty - for them to get this out, a moment where Loki wanted to try and be open but couldn't with people he didn't know, didn't still fully trust.

He trusted Ronan though.

"...What?"

"I have to go back to Asgard. To Odin. I...I shouldn't have left." Loki's head fell forward and he let out a bitter laugh. "I deserved to be imprisoned - I've killed people, tried to kill an entire race, why should I be free?"

"Because Thor tried it first and was set free." Ronan felt his hands clench into fists when Loki turned to look at him. "Hell, he wasn't even imprisoned. And the invasion of Earth? That wasn't done of free will. There wasn't a trial, and apparently innocent until proven guilty isn't a thing on Asgard."

"Rona -"

"No, I'm talking." Impulsively, Ronan placed a finger on Loki's lips. His eyes crossed to stare at it, and Ronan carried on talking. "You are at least going to get Thor to tell Odin to give you a trial, and then you can do like...community service or something. Fix the wards and the palace and something other than sitting in a cell and rotting away. And then you're coming back to Earth, back to me, because you kissed me and we should talk about that."

"We could talk about that now." Loki said around Ronan's finger.

"But then you won't come back."

"Ronan." Loki's voice had gone soft in that unusual way that Ronan very rarely heard, and he gently moved Ronan's hand away from his mouth. He didn't release his wrist. "I will come back. Even if I have to beg the Allfather, I will come back. It won't be two years, like Thor, I want to come back sooner, even if only briefly. I...I missed you." He pulled a face and Ronan felt himself grin.

"Don't look like it's such a burden to admit it." He teased lightly and Loki rolled his eyes.

"Laugh if you like, but I did. None of the books were about boy wizards and the company didn't have curly hair and beautiful eyes." Ronan could feel his cheeks heating in embarrassment, especially when Loki brushed a curl out of said beautiful eyes. He pressed a kiss to Ronan's forehead, lingering just slightly. "I have to atone for my mistakes, but I will come back. Everything will work out perfectly well - you know it will."

"Yeah." Ronan breathed. "Yeah, I know it will."

And for a while, it was just Ronan and a god, sitting on a beaten up sofa in London, holding hands and talking in quiet voices about the future.

And Ronan knew it was true. Everything was going to be alright.

XoOoX

I hate this but I had to post it because it has been sitting in my drafts for ages and wasn't gonna get much better.

But! When The Stars Align is now complete so I can get onto the interlude which may or may not include more Loki, more Ronan and more Avengers - my favourite thing to write.

I also cannot write fight scenes for my life hence why I usually skip them or just...avoid writing them.

Anyway, hope you enjoy!

Until next time - Jazz xx