Author's Note

Song Lyrics from Lawson - Four Letters
/watch?v=ONQACAueB3I&list=PLb-h0TgZRJZpYbnvq7gW1FBvsBMdCI_mZ&index=20

Additional Song: Avril Lvigne - Things I'll Never Say
/watch?v=_zuBQ5zBgA0&list=PLb-h0TgZRJZpYbnvq7gW1FBvsBMdCI_mZ&index=26

Whole Playlist:
/playlist?list=PLb-h0TgZRJZooJ-TPIjxWEFoYEnXi2vcl

She had stood amongst the Asgardian citizens, watching as the planet she had spent her childhood on, the planet she had grown to love over the years, got destroyed. It exploded right in front of her eyes, leaving nothing but debris and ashes floating through the dark. Hela had been annihilated, but so had everything else. Closing her eyes, Luciana remembered what life had been like in the realm of the gods. Amongst all the tragedies and battles that had brought them to this very point, lay countless happy memories. Images of children laughing, playing games of tag under the sun. Images of celebrations, piles of food and drinks being distributed among the smiling guests, dances until the dawn of the next day. She vowed to remember them all, treasure them until the end of her life. Even if she would end up losing herself one day, she would never forget.

Luciana averted her gaze. She didn't want to watch the aftermath of the destruction any longer. Instead she withdrew into one of the ship's cabins, hoping to be able to collect her thoughts alone for a while. However, the quiet didn't last long as Thor soon entered the room.
"Looking for some peace and quiet, too?" he asked her.
"Well, not any longer it seems."

The God of Thunder chuckled, before walking over to the nearby glass table to pour himself a drink. Glass in hand he turned towards the mirror, reaching for the black eyepatch that was covering his now hollow eye socket.
"If it's any consolation, that makes you look at least ten times cooler."
"Haha, thank you, Lucy. I always thought my coolness level was already peaking but- Hey, what's with that snicker! The people on Earth think of me as super cool!"
"I'm sure they do~"
"...Are you alright though?" he asked, concern in his voice.
Even though he hadn't explicitly said anything, Luciana knew exactly what her friend was getting at and the images from just before Asgard's doom repeated in her mind.

"Lucy! Come on!"
"But-"
"We have to go! Now!"
"He's not back yet! We can't leave without him!"
"Lucy…"

In the end Thor had grabbed ahold of her body, forcing her along as the Hulk brought the group back to the spaceship… without Loki.

It had broken her heart to leave him behind and it would be a lie to say that she was anywhere near fine. But now wasn't the time to cry. Not when there was someone who needed her. She was not the only one who had lost someone today. Thor had too, as had almost every other remaining Asgardian on the ship. These people needed someone to lead them and there was only one person who could fill that role. But there was no way the man in front of her would manage that on his own. He needed the support of whoever was left of his friends and that included Luciana. And so she simply nodded at his question. It was all she could do at the moment. But it was enough.

Both of them stared into the mirror, forcing themselves to smile for the other. They would get through whatever was to come, together. They owed it to the ones who had been lost. They owed it to…

"Lo..ki?"

The syllables left her mouth in disbelief. Was she imagining things? There in the mirror, right in front of them, her eyes could see the image of the God of Mischief, as if he was standing behind them. But this was impossible. Surely her mind was only playing a trick on her right now. But when she glanced over at Thor, her eyes widened in shock. He had the same startled expression on his face. It couldn't be. Luciana spun around on her heel.

And there he was.

"It suits you." he addressed his brother who was now also slowly turning around. Carefully, he placed his glass back on the table, taking one of the metal objects on it in his hand instead.
"Maybe you're not so bad after all, brother."
"Maybe not."
"Thank you. If you were here, I might even give you a hug."
Luciana had barely time to blink as the blonde already sent the object in his hand flying towards his brother, expecting it to pass right through the illusion. But to his surprise Loki easily caught it, a grin on his lips. "I'm here."

For a few moments the brothers stared at each other smiling. Luciana looked back and forth between them before letting out a wry laugh. "Seriously, if you two aren't gonna do it then I will!"
They barely managed to turn their heads towards her, when the brunette already darted forward. Grabbing each man's hand she tugged on their arms. If they had used even a bit of their strength, they could have easily thwarted her intention. But instead they let themselves get pulled towards her, maybe even a bit thankful to have been saved from the awkwardness of taking the first step on their own. As she wrapped her arms around each brother, she could feel them both starting to laugh, before leaning in to return the embrace.

Your eyes, your look
Your skin, your love

As Thor finally assumed his position as Asgard's rightful king, she stood next to Loki, Valkyrie, Hulk and Heimdall. The people of Asgard behind them, they watched Odin's firstborn son take the captain's seat - or maybe it should be called a throne now. It was time to set course to finding a new home. And there was really only one place to choose: Earth.

Ending the assembly, the citizens relocated to other parts of the ship, as did Valkyrie and Hulk who seemed to be set on performing a sparring session on the lower grounds. The new king had followed after Heimdall somewhere to discuss their next proceedings. Meanwhile, Luciana and Loki had moved to a smaller room right below the newly assigned throne hall, which also featured a huge window to the outside. They stood next to each other, staring through the grand glass wall into space. However, none of them spoke and silence filled the hall.

"This… is awkward." Loki broke the silence after what seemed like ages.
She chuckled. "I was wondering how much longer you would be able to endure the quiet."
"...You stayed silent on purpose."
"Maybe~ But I'm ready to talk now. Unless-" she did a half-turn to the side, coming to a halt directly in front of him. A cheeky smile on her lips, she stared into his blue eyes. "-you want to fill this room with a different kind of noises~"
"Wha-!?" he yelped, his heart immediately picking up the pace. But when he saw her laughing, Loki averted his gaze, pouting.
"Hahahaha, too easy! Revenge for that stunt with my dress~"
"I think you already got enough revenge for that a while ago."
"Aww~ But I was drunk back then. So, that doesn't really count. After all, drunk people aren't of a sound mind. You can't hold them accountable for their actions." she replied, tilting her head at which Loki let out a tired sigh.
"I really can't win against you…"
"Nope-"
"But that's fine, I accepted that a long time ago."
"Eh?"

Confused by what those words meant, Luciana turned her gaze back towards his eyes. She peered into the blue orbs, as if trying to find the answer behind them. The smug expression on her face soon faded, getting replaced by something else. Something almost… vulnerable.
"What does that mean?" she finally asked."Hm~ If I remember correctly, I'm the one that was promised answers. Why is it that I'm getting questions from you instead?" he teased, poking her forehead with his index finger. His usual smugness seemed to return to his features. It would have been easy for him to turn the tides and take control of the conversation now. But Loki didn't intend to continue this game of back and forth between them any longer. He wanted to move forward instead of remaining stuck in one place, repeating things over and over again. And if breaking out of this cycle meant he had to finally put his honest thoughts and feelings out in the open, then so be it.

He took a deep breath. "Lucy…"
"Yes?"
"Before I start with your interrogation… There is something I need to tell you first."
Luciana chuckled. "Alright Detective, I'm listening."
"Ok, so, uhm… How do I start this?" he began, all of a sudden uncharacteristically nervous. "Do you remember four years ago, the night before you left Asgard all of a sudden?"
"Of course." she nodded. "That was when you gave me this." Luciana's hand reached towards her neck, gently touching the emerald necklace. The sight brought a smile to his lips and he felt himself relax just a bit.

"That's right. I also asked you a question that night. Although, you never got to answer it. Don't worry, I won't force you to now! Not that I don't want to know anymore! But… As time passed and you didn't return, I kept thinking about it and I realized that I had the order all wrong." He paused for a moment, studying her face. Briefly, he expected her to interrupt him at this point, but the brunette remained silent. "You can't just ask someone how they feel towards you before expressing your own feelings first. Otherwise, that's not really fair. Which is why this time, I'll go first. I, towards you Lucy… I- Mmmgh!?"

Luciana had realized half way through his speech where this was going. And while one part of her felt happy as she had never been before in her life, there was also another part of her that was panicking. After that night at The Grandmaster's party she had realized something. She had figured out what it was that brought upon a divergence on the timeline. She knew now what wasn't allowed to happen for everything to proceed as foretold. And Loki was about to do just that.

But on the other hand they were already on the last stretch, close to the finish line. Was it even still possible to change the path that lay ahead? Maybe they were already too close for it to make any difference.

But could she risk it?

No.

If saying those words aloud was what would bring doom to this timeline, then she had to shut him up. And the fastest way to do that was…

Loki didn't understand what was happening. One second he had been ready to bring down all his over the years well-built defense mechanisms to allow himself to speak about the feelings he had tried so hard to fight against all this time. And the next moment he had felt Luciana's lips on his. She was kissing him. Again.
Only this time she was sober. Both of them were. There was no alcohol in their blood to which he could ascribe her actions. This was completely different.

And it felt different too. It wasn't urgent or hungry or… There was no desperation in it.
This kiss was gentle and heartfelt, affectionate. As if she was trying to bring something across too. And as he closed his eyes to return it, he asked himself whether he was allowed to assume that it was the same feeling he had tried to articulate. That it was…

Love.

After breaking apart, they stared at each other. Luciana was smiling affectionately at him.
"Did that answer your question from back then?" she whispered.
"Well… I guess. Although, I'd still like to hear it as well. Just so-"
"Achem."

A cough interrupted the two and their heads snapped to the side. There, their eyes caught sight of Thor, who was trying really hard to look casual.
"How long have you been standing there?" Loki asked, clearly uncomfortable.
"Oh, uhm, a little while… I didn't know when to interrupt so-"
"When, Thor?" the brunette firmly ordered him to speak up.
"Around the I asked you a question that night part."

Both of their cheeks flared up red upon the knowledge that the God of Thunder had seen and heard basically everything.
"Did you ever hear of privacy, brother?" Loki snapped.
"Well, this is not really a private room to begin with so-"
The God of Mischief groaned in frustration, clearly done with the situation. He grabbed for Luciana's hand, pulling her along as he made his way towards the door.
"Congrats by the way, you two. I want to say, I totally support this. It was long overdue anyways so- Where are you going?"
"Somewhere private." he snapped curtly, as he passed his brother.

The brunette chuckled at their bickering. But as a huge shadow suddenly fell over them, blocking out the light in front of them, her face froze.

No. It couldn't be.
Was it already time?

In front of her Loki stopped in his tracks. Slowly, he turned around, wondering where the sudden darkness came from. Next to her his brother did the same. But what they saw had both of them gape in shock.
Luciana didn't turn around. She knew what their eyes were gazing at. She didn't want to see it. She pressed her eyes shut, hoping that if she just ignored reality long enough, then the giant spaceship would disappear.
"What… is that?" her ears detected Loki's voice from somewhere far away. And a moment later she heard her own voice answering.

"This… is the beginning of the end…"

But if I'm too late my heart breaks for this one thing
You and I

F I N