Ella was on her fifth glass of wine that evening, sat in the kitchen with Steve next to her still. She didn't want to go back home. She had no desire to return to Asgard. She would much prefer to stay away for the time being, but she had responsibilities. She had duties that she had to take up. And then there was the matter of Loki. She couldn't leave him there in the pretence that he was Odin. Besides, she had to find out where her father was. But, as she sat with Steve, she was reluctant to leave.

"So…how have things been going here?" Ella wondered. "And I don't mean work."

Steve chuckled and picked up the glass of wine, leaning back in his seat and moving the glass to his lips. He took a sip and had to admit that he found it quite strong. He didn't need many more glasses of it.

"You mean me in general?"

Ella nodded. "You've told me everything about the missions you've been on and you've listened to me talk about Loki, but you haven't told me how you're doing."

Steve chuckled and shrugged. "Not much more to tell," he said to her. "I've been spending more time working than anything else, but I've been looking for Bucky…so far I haven't found him, though."

"Do you think you will?" Ella enquired.

She knew all about Bucky Barnes. Steve's best friend had been presumed dead until he had reappeared as the Winter Soldier. She had read up on the Winter Soldier and what he had done and what he had been put through. She had to admit that she felt sorry for him. She couldn't imagine how it must have felt to have been brainwashed for all of those years. And she knew Steve felt guilty over not having saved him when he fell from the train during the War. But it hadn't been his fault.

"I don't know," Steve admitted with a soft sigh.

"He's got to be good at hiding," Ella said, swirling the wine in her glass and looking down into its depths as she contemplated The Winter Soldier. She remembered all too well how the fight had gone down in Washington D.C. She had been scared, of course, but fear hadn't taken over when she had gone into the battle.

"Yeah, he is," Steve said. "I keep chasing all these leads and they end up taking me straight to a dead end. He's practically a ghost."

"He'll make some kind of mistake," Ella said. "Most people do, even ex-HYDRA super soldiers. Besides, he's probably scared. He recognised you that day and he dragged you out of the water. If his memories are coming back then he's going to have a lot to contend with. He's going to need you eventually to help him through it."

"And I wish he knew that I was there for him," Steve said to Ella with a nod of his head and he placed the glass of wine down in front of him, his hands shaking slightly as he thought of Bucky and what he must be going through. "I will always be there for him, but I don't think he knows that quite yet."

"Give him time," Ella said confidently. "Anyway, besides Bucky, how are things here?"

Looking around the kitchen, Steve nodded and then shrugged his shoulders. "It's different to when we were living in D.C.," he admitted to her. "It's pretty remote, which is nice and quiet, but I don't know if it's too quiet sometimes. I know I have Wanda and Sam here with me all of the time."

"Wanda's a new recruit?" Ella asked him.

He nodded his head. "Yeah," he said to her. "She's a good kid, but she's new to all of this and lost her family. I feel for her and I…well…I want to help her learn how to control her powers."

"You will," Ella said. "You helped me, didn't you?"

"Not control your powers. You already fight better than most of them here," Steve said and Ella smirked over her glass of wine, her lips curling upwards as she spoke before taking a sip.

"Not what I meant," she said, "but you're not wrong. I meant that you'll help her find her place. She's lost her family and needs someone to rely on…to help her…and you'll do that just like you helped me when I came here."

Steve nodded. Of course, he would do anything for Wanda. But he couldn't help but remember his time with Ella fondly. He remembered taking her around D.C. and helping her adapt to the human way of life. In a sense, he had found it refreshing to find someone who didn't understand things like he did. He had a bit of a better understanding, but he had still been finding his feet. He still was, in a sense.

"I enjoyed it," Steve said. "Do you remember that-"

"-I remember everything," Ella interrupted him and he watched her as she set her glass down, her gaze meeting his and Steve swore he felt that usual flutter in his stomach when he saw her. He hadn't known what it was, but he knew what he wanted at that moment in time.

"Ella, I miss-"

"-Don't," Ella interrupted him, shaking her head and tearing her gaze from his. Whatever had just happened was enough to make her own chest ache, her heart beating loudly. But she couldn't do this to Steve. She couldn't play with his feelings.

"Do you not miss me?" Steve asked her.

"Of course I miss you," Ella said as if it were obvious. "Steve, I care very deeply for you. You're amazing and that time I spent in D.C. with you was one of the best years of my life."

"Then what is wrong?" Steve questioned. "What are you scared of?"

"Hurting you," Ella said to him. "I don't want to hurt you, Steve, and I fear that's what I might do."

"But it might not be," Steve retorted.

"Listen," Ella said, shaking her head slowly and moving to push the glass of wine away from her. She wanted to do nothing more than take a big gulp because she knew that she was on her way to being drunk. But that wouldn't be a good idea. "Now isn't the time for us to have this discussion, Steve. We've both been drinking and I know what happens when people get drunk…they often do things they regret…and I'm not saying that I would regret us doing anything, but I don't want to take that risk."

Steve nodded his head. He had to admit that he was also feeling rather light-headed, but he knew that what he was saying was true. He wasn't lying to her. He knew how he felt and he knew that as soon as he had seen her a couple of hours ago, he had missed her and he still had feelings for her. He wasn't going to deny it.

"If that's what you want," Steve said and Ella nodded.

"It's for the best. We can talk tomorrow…I can go into the City and find somewhere to stay tonight and we can meet tomorrow for brunch," Ella said.

Steve's lips arched and he reached for his wine once more, taking another sip. "You always were obsessed with brunch."

"Because that place in D.C. did some of the best waffles I ever ate. You know, we tried other places but I always went back there. Where was it? That restaurant just around the corner from your apartment?"

"Bennies," he said and Ella stood up, smiling.

"Bennies," she repeated.

She pulled down the skirt that she was wearing before rolling up the sleeves to her black jumper.

"You can stay here tonight, we have spare rooms," Steve said to her and Ella smiled thankfully.

"It's a kind offer, but I think it might be for the best if I go somewhere else," Ella said and Steve didn't argue with her. He simply watched her as she pulled out a cell from her pocket. "I'll call a cab and meet it on the main road. I don't think using magic to teleport would be a good idea."

"Might freak people out," he agreed.

Ella looked down to him and watched him intently for a moment. Bending down, she kissed him on the cheek softly. Her lips remained on his clean-shaven skin as he closed his eyes, his breath hitching as he felt her kiss him and he could smell the familiar scent of strawberry from her hair as it fell against his nose. Ella held onto his shoulder, the feel of him so familiar as her hand slipped down his arm.

"Ella," Steve whispered her name huskily and she turned to look to him.

His eyes moved down to her lips as he own eyes copied his movements. He leaned in closer to her and Ella crouched down even lower and before she know it, her lips had met his.

…

Ella had gone outside when the clock struck two in the morning, a blanket draped around her shoulders. The guilt that she was feeling was eating her up as she found a log in the wooded area outside of the Avengers facility and sat down on it. She tossed a hand through her hair before pulling the blanket tighter around her shoulders. She looked down to the ground, seeing how it was damp, the grass glistening in the moonlight above.

"I was going to come for you earlier, but I didn't think that you would appreciate me interrupting you and America's national hero."

Ella turned her head over her shoulder and saw him moving towards her, dressed in a plain black suit with a tie. She looked away from him and straight ahead.

"I have nothing to say to you," she snapped out.

Nodding, he moved and sat down on the other end of the log. He gave her the space that she needed as she pulled her knees up to her chin, resting it on her kneecaps.

"That sounds fair enough," he said. "But I couldn't leave you alone."

"Why? You've clearly had no problem with doing that before now."

"Is that what you think?"

"You lied to me," Ella snarled and turned to glower at him and he hated it when she looked at him like that. He didn't like the thought of his sister being angry with him, but he should have expected it. "You banished our father. You sent him here…to Midgard…"

"He is perfectly safe," Loki promised his sister. "I ensured it and I keep making certain of it."

"And me?" Ella snapped. "I thought that I was managing to mend things between us, Loki. I thought that we were getting somewhere and it turned out to be a lie. You've been lying to me."

"You know what I am God of, right?" Loki asked from her and she moved to push at him, her hand hitting against his upper arm. He held up his hands defensively, shaking his head back and forth. "Poor comment, I'm sorry."

Ella remained mute and Loki continued to watch her, his eyes showing sorrow as she couldn't even look at him. It was almost as though she refused to meet his eye, not that he could blame her. He knew what he had done and he knew that it was going to end like this. How else could it have ended?

"I came to you in your dreams because I missed you," Loki said. "But I couldn't show you that I was still alive because it would have been too dangerous…I couldn't go back to the cells, Ella. Odin would have put me straight back there and I couldn't do that again."

"And so this was the next best thing?" Ella said.

"I had to stay hidden. I have to stay hidden," he corrected. "You know how I failed in New York and I will never be forgiven for that."

Ella knew that much. But she didn't know how Loki feared Thanos as well. He feared that he would still go through with his plan to find the Infinity Stones. He didn't want Ella to be involved in any of that. If he had his way then she would be back on Asgard where he could keep an eye on her and keep her safe.

"You could have gone to another realm…you could have stayed hidden. Your magic is strong enough to do that," Ella said to him and he nodded his agreement. He knew full well that his magic was strong enough, but he didn't want to do that.

"I wanted to go home, Ella," Loki said, his voice softening slightly and she did look at him then. "I wanted to be with you. Why do you think I tried so hard to keep you on Asgard?"

He wondered if his sister was going to relent with her anger, noticing how her eyes widened and he swore he saw them water before she bit down on her bottom lip and shook her head. "I would have helped you," she said to him in a whisper. "I would have helped you get away…hide from father…I'd have done anything for you, despite what you've done. You know that."

And he did know that. He knew it all too well, but it didn't mean that he wanted a life like that.

"It's too late now," Ella said and she moved to her feet. "Tell me where father is and I'll bring him home."

"Ella, no-"

"-Don't you dare keep it from me," she interrupted him. "I told you to set things straight, Loki, but if you won't do it then I will sort out this mess that you've created!"

Loki stood up as well, hands dropping to his hips as he watched his sister refuse to back down.

"It seems like I'm not the only one who has caused a mess, Ella," Loki said to her. "You came to Midgard and ran away from me before we could discuss this properly and look where you wound up? In Steve Roger's bed…and you know how he feels about you…and now you play with his emotions."

Ella flapped her arms by her side, not entirely liking the idea of Loki knowing where she had just spent the past couple of hours. "Don't pretend that you even care about Steve," she hissed. "You're just trying to manipulate me. You're trying to make me feel bad."

"No," Loki retorted. "I am trying to stop you from hurting yourself because I know you. You might feel something for him, but it is not love. If it was love then you would never have come back to Asgard and left him."

"How is this relevant to what you have done to father?" Ella snapped. "What you have done to me?"

"Because I know that you will dwell on it and claim it was a mistake…blame me for coming here and running to him."

"No, I wouldn't," Ella said. "I made that choice on my own and I can accept the consequences of my own behaviour, unlike you. You never accept the consequences and do everything you can to trick and deceive people…to get what you want…and damn everyone else."

"You truly think that?"

"I know that," she said. "I've seen you do it so many times and you're not getting away with any longer because I'm not doing this again, Loki. I'm tired of defending you and sticking up for you."

"Ella, you don't mean that," Loki shook his head.

"Yes, I do," she snapped back at him. "I mean it and I am finished, Loki. I love you so much and I cried for you…wept for you…but I can't keep doing this. I can't keep being hurt by you."

"Ella," Loki could only whisper his sister's name as she turned on her heel and he watched her go. He didn't know what it was he could do to keep her with him. He had to try something. And so he called out to her. "He's in a care home in Australia."

She froze on the spot and turned to look back at him, the blanket still dangling around her shoulders. She watched him for a few seconds as his eyes met hers and he took a step forward.

"I put him in a care home in Australia where I knew he would be safe," Loki concluded.

But Ella said nothing. She only looked over him and then turned back around and continued walking. Loki watched her back, his breath hitching in his throat as she went and his brows knitted together on his forehead. He had told her where Odin was. He had given her what she wanted, yet she still walked away from him. What had he expected? Did he expect her to turn back around and simply forgive him? He had hoped for it. He had hoped it would be the first step towards them reconciling.

But it seemed he had been mistaken and he had a long way to go before that was to happen. Nodding to himself, he let his sister return to the compound before he sat back down on the log and clasped his hands together, bowing his head and thinking of what he had to do.

...

A/N: Not sure if anyone is still reading/interested in this but would love to know what you think!