A/N: Helloooo. I apologize that this has taken me 4 months to update, I've just been so busy. I've been working on NaNoWriMo stuff for november prep and I'm writing a series, and just overall aaaah. Though I'm so sorry, I've been working on this chapter ever since I promised I'd get them more on time, and I will. I am determined to finish this, I can't leave you all hanging.
Shoutout to an unexpected party, Magi Zumurrd, HeartxSoul, SailorOG, realityisanillusion, ravenfett, Fiera Evenstar, selenastarsparrow1230, Lucky3x, geekygrace, sher-kat-lock, VictoriaGuerra, XxLellian Black-GryffindorXx, , PhoenixRoha, RedPolkaDotGirl, Cliffordini, BassiexoxoM, grindout, Dinwen, Shaunatrix, vanillacandy0, and Melanina for following, your guys joining this story mean a lot to me, and the emails telling me that you guys were around were what kept reminding me to update.
LOve34, Sally and LIZ: Thank you for your reviews. I'm so sorry you had to wait so long, but I hope this makes up for the wait, and I'll try to keep up with it more often :) I have no intention of stopping, as I said I'm definitely going to finish because you all enjoy it so much.
lokisgirl: Thank you so much :D I try to make sure everyone gets some airtime since I love almost all the characters in this universe. It's a bit hard at times to remember just who hasn't had any airtime in a while haha but I try so thank you for telling me that it is working well.
Eq3n Queen: Don't worry about reviewing every chapter, I squealed just to see yours anyway haha. I am literally so happy just to read it again because it always makes me so happy to see when people love the way I do things, sometimes I think I do things too much haha but yaaay! I only hope this next chapter isn't at all any disappointment as it's been a while and I'm a little rusty. But thank you all the same, and I hope you enjoy it.
Now I think that's it, there's zero Loki/Lizzie interaction here as they're separated, but I'm setting the stage for my next section of fun stuff. I'm depressed a little over the fact that Pepperony is 'taking a break' in CACW (rip me btw) so I HAVE DECIDED TO SET THINGS RIGHT hahaha hopefully it works and more fun stuff on the way. Anywya, I'll shut up now, and I hope you all enjoy. :D
"What do you think about getting married next month?" Tony asked out of the blue to Pepper who was getting ready for bed, the redhead blinking in the mirror from where she was brushing her teeth and sticking her head out of the bathroom.
"What?" She asked around the toothbrush, eyes wide as saucers at the abruptness.
Tony sat up. "Well I was thinking, since we both just went through a scare of nearly dying, it might be a good idea just to get married before one of us goes for good." he expounded on, Pepper blinking again at him before sticking up a finger with a 'hold that thought' and finishing up her teeth. "Oh okay, yeah whenever you're not busy, it's not that important."
The water ran for a second, then turned off. "Yes..." Pepper said as she clicked off the bathroom light. "it is." Walking into the room, she sighed and stood at the end of the bed, staring at Tony for a few minutes in silence, her wheels turning in her head. He watched her as she twisted the ring on her finger, the engagement ring which he'd given her what seemed like forever ago glittering every time the diamond twisted back into the light. "Is this really about us both nearly dying, or is there something else and you're just using this? Because this is a pretty big thing, especially right now with the whole... threat to the world thing."
Tony pursed his lips in agitation. "Do you really think I've not thought about just how big this is? It's big, like really big. I swore I'd never get married, and the day I asked you to marry me was nerve racking enough - I just thought that after everything which has happened, it would... be..." He trailed off, looking rather similar to a lost puppy as he clambered across the bed to her and put his arms around her waist, pulling her closer. "I want to marry you. I - we both nearly lost each other in a span of a few weeks, and maybe Steve has been right all these months telling us we're wasting what little we may have because I'm me."
Pepper was silent for a bit, though her eyes never left his face as she contemplated what he said. Finally a smile appeared, and her head tiled as her fingers ran through his hair. "A month isn't very long to plan." The words finally came out, and from the expression on her face Tony knew she'd both agreed and was touched by what he said. "Though I already have the dress picked out and that's half the trouble-"
"You picked out a dress?" Tony asked in surprise.
"Yeah...couple of months ago actually." Pepper replied with a smile. "I went out with the girls and we were passing a bridal shop. Natasha and Emma practically dragged me in, and what started as a joke became very serious. So I already picked out a dress."
Months. She'd had a dress for months and he didn't notice. "Did you actually buy it?" Pepper nodded. "Where is it?" He was absolute positive he hadn't seen it in her closet when he'd raided her closet looking for the ipad she'd hidden from him a month or two back. Pepper pursed her lips, looking over at his closet. "Your wedding dress is in my closet?"
Pepper nodded again.
"That is an invasion of privacy."
"You never actually use the clothes in your closet. You clearly haven't been there since I put it in." Pepper said with a playful grin.
Tony looked at the door of the closet, the back at his fiancée. A moment passed before his hands moved to her waist and he pulled her onto the bed, eliciting a shocked yelp followed by laughter. "So, uh, since you already have the dress,and I hear that's the thing that takes the most time. Maybe we can move it up to next week?" He said with a wide smile, half hovering over her.
Pepper laughed again. "I'm busy next week. Next month is fine, though I've got to get a wedding planner.."
Tony listened as Pepper began to rattle of what she'd need to do with a smile on his face, his commentary ever flowing, until she started to get tired and they agreed to go to sleep. They both had their own duties in this thing, and Pepper refused to let him have too much power, his Promises Of an 'unforgettable wedding' more unsettling with the kind of thing he'd come up with than Pepper had been comfortable with.
At the end he was still staring up at the ceiling, more excited than he'd actually anticipated. But there was one thing that kept bugging him.
"You know 'Pepper Stark' isn't going to have the same ring to it."
"It'll be 'Virginia Stark'. Go to sleep Tony."
Lizzie stretched as she entered the kitchen, a lopsided grin on her still sleepy face as she saw that although she had come in to check what Tony had in his fridge, she -in fact- would not be making breakfast that morning. "Oh hello there." Clara greeted her. "Elizabeth isn't it?"
"Just 'Lizzie' please." Lizzie said with a laugh. "Elizabeth, although Loki uses it, makes me sound very very grown up, which I am not willing to accept quite yet." Clara chuckled. "Though yes I am hungry - wait I didn't get your name."
"Clara. We've met you know." The small brunette replied. Lizzie blinked, she had no recollection of such -Clara laughed. "When you first came to the compound, I was standing with Alex, he gave a brief introduction."
Lizzie shrugged, bemused. "Well I met a lot of people that day. I hope you'll forgive me that I don't actually remember you."
"No harm, no foul. You just stuck out in my mind, which is probably why I remembered you meself." Clara replied,turning back to the stove. 'Meself' Lizzie smiled a little bit at the usage of such a word, a familiarity of the country from whence it came bringing a fondness in her mind. "So I've been making the breakfasts...while you've been gone. I didn't know whether you'd be up to it."
"I'll have to pick a bone with Tony - replacing me so easily, I'm offended." Lizzie commented, looking around while Clara snickered. "You staying long?" She asked.
Clara paused in her stirring of some kind of medley of vegetables. "Want me gone already?"
"Wha-no, no, no!" Lizzie exclaimed. "I'm just wondering, because if you are maybe we could work out a schedule of sorts between us all."
"Ah. Very wise of you." Clara resumed her stirring. "Well, I hope to stay awhile - well, at least until this whole... alien invasion thing gets cleared up. Any ideas on where that's at? I mean you were..." she made a vague motion toward the ceiling, to which Lizzie laughed.
"No I, uh, I don't." She sobered, her fingers beginning to play with her locket. "We don't really know what's happening there, he's completely fallen off the radar." It was concerning, if she were honest, the thought that even though they'd gotten rid of Alex there was still a threat out there; one much larger than Alex had ever been. Thanos may be biding his time for now, waiting until the best time to strike, but he would strike, and like a Hydra of mythology he'd spring up two heads where once was one. Then, when all was quiet, and guards began to ebb - he'd strike.
"Earth to Elizabeth Donovan. Elizabeth Donovan come in please?" Clara was standing in front of her, concern etched on her round face.
Lizzie gave a chuckled laugh. "Sorry. Spaced." Her round eyes looked around the kitchen as she jumped down from the counter. "Would you like some help? I think I hear Clint coming down the hallway."
As if on cue, the archer entered, a grin plastered on his face as he marched up to Lizzie and hugged her, the small woman submitting to it as Clara 'awww'ed a few feet away "I missed you, you idiot." He murmured to her hair, letting go to look down at her. "Now where's my breakfast, woman?"
Natasha came around the corner just as Clint was thrown from the entrance of the kitchen, a shocked look on his face as he landed in a heap. "What the hell did you say this time?" She asked, amusement barely hidden behind the raised brow of interest.
Clint merely picked himself up, dusting off imaginary dirt from his pants before he looked at her grumpily,muttering something about how 'those two are going to be annoying' as he stomped off like a petulant child - the sound of laughter pealing out of the kitchen behind him.
High above in Asgard, a far less jovial image was in scene. Loki had thought that he could spend his week or two far away from Odin, but no more than two days since Elizabeth's departure and he was called to the throne room 'urgently'.
The reasoning was clear the moment the doors opened to him, three Jotun standing before Odin, with one normal sized man between them. Crystal blue eyes met his emerald green ones as Loki walked further into the room, standing at the foot of the steps leading up to the throne. It was unnerving just how the man looked at him, as if his unnatural gaze could somehow see through him in a way he wasn't used to or liked... he assumed it must have been the fact that the man was pale, with jet black hair which made his eyes stand out even more from his chiseled face. Loki could tell something was off about him - there was an air about him which made it seem like he wasn't comfortable in his own skin.
No one spoke as they had a staring contest, Loki smirking in response to a raised eyebrow, a silent war of amusement sparking between the two men.
"So you're the one who tried to destroy Jotunheim." The mystery man said, his voice low as he looked Loki up and down, noting how Loki bristled at the words he spoke. "There is no doubt of his parentage now that I've seen him. He looks like the late king, but with the queen's eyes." Loki inwardly groaned, his jaw ticking in annoyance. How utterly lovely that Odin had brought someone clearly from Jotunheim to see him - how clever. "I don't think he appreciates my presence." the man continued.
Loki smirked. The man was observant, maybe he would be fun after all.
"Loki, this is Prince Helblindi of Jotunheim." Odin explained, disrupting the staring match the two men had going. "...Your brother."
The smirk wiped clean off the tricksters face, green eyes betraying the surprise he felt, as well as a thread of disdain. Thor had explained that Jotunheim and Asgard had been repairing the rift between the realms which had been created, but the fact that the Crown Prince himself had come must have meant something... that was, of course, if Odin wasn't trying to plan something despite the fact that there was already a date set for his trial.
Though what confused him was why the prince of Jotunheim looked Aesir.
Helblindi chuckled. "And here I thought that my brother had a better tongue than this."
That seemed to snap Loki into focus, and tilting his head, he took a step forward. "You're shorter than I expected." he commented.
There was a beat of silence, but despite the glances exchanged between the guards, Helblindi merely smiled. "Yes, well, I didn't want to cause a disturbance. My normal height would likely draw attention to me."
"You are surrounded by three massive Jotun, the attention is already drawn." Loki retorted. "Though why are you here exactly? And why was I summoned." He spun around on his heel toward Odin, fixing the Allfather with genuine curiosity. "Surely this wasn't merely for a family gathering."
"No, it wasn't." Odin replied. "Prince Helblindi needs your help, and since it is still a week until you are to go to trial I have agreed to allow you to go to Jotunheim until then to assist him. They recently discovered that there are a few creatures which are not Jotun but have been morphed into their forms... I do believe you know the kind of thing this is."
Loki groaned. Thanos was disappointing him with how he kept repeating himself, though the patter was going to make things somewhat easier to deal with. But that wasn't all that annoyed him - it seemed the Allfather had yet to shed the irritating habit of treating him like a dog which he threw a stick in a certain direction and expected him to fetch. "Do I have a choice in this?"
Odin stared hard at him. "As a prisoner, with much of your previous faults having to do with Jotunheim, it is perhaps in your favor that this task has been given to you. If you are able to discern these creatures from the Jotuns and assist Prince Helblindi, then perhaps there is something that can be counted toward the charges set against you from Jotunheim." He answered, his tone making his decision final, a fact which had the Trickster seething.
Still, he smiled, turning back to Helblindi - who, to his surprise, was staring up at Odin with something akin to irritation in his own blue eyes. He looked down at Loki. "That is agreeable to you?" he inquired, his question taking Loki off guard. Maybe he'd like the other man after all?
"Considering the threat to the Nine Realms, I can hardly deny you assistance." He found himself saying, wondering if going to that place would be a good idea. "When do we depart?"
Helblindi looked between the Allfather and Loki, thinking for a moment before he answered. "Tomorrow? Since your trial is not far away, I wouldn't wish to keep you long, and the sooner we start the better off we'll all be." he said smoothly.
Tomorrow. "Very well." Loki replied. "Tomorrow it is." He only doubted whether the amount of time was sufficient.
It was strange being back for Lizzie, though it had only been about a month since she'd left, it seemed like a lifetime, and she felt distant from everyone. Tony and Pepper had come in announcing the date of the wedding, and to her surprise, she edged out of the room, slipping into Loki's room to avoid the happy atmosphere. She didn't feel the same...
Wrapped in his blankets, she merely breathed, an ache in her chest building as she thought of Loki. She'd tried to act completely fine with the current arrangement, but she was far from fine. Pulling the blankets close to her, she fought the desire to cry from missing him, berating herself for being so foolish.
A quiet knock at the door interrupted her thoughts, and she turned in that direction to see Veronika enter, a dread filling Lizzie's heart at the sight of her. It wasn't that she didn't wish to speak with her mother - it was merely a fear, a feeling that the woman in front of her was very much a stranger, who likely disapproved of her choices in life. She knew all too well she knew nothing about Veronika... and yet she felt like she needed to something about that, it was her mother after all. "Do you mind if I come in?" the older woman asked.
Lizzie shook her head without a word, brown eyes following as Veronika walked in a sat down on the edge of the bed. Silence followed as they stared at each other, both unsure just how to proceed. Their earlier reunion had been far from normal, and as this was their first real conversation, Veronika didn't want to make Lizzie uncomfortable.
How did one explain that they knew everything about the other person, and had been watching them, all the while pretending as if they'd always been dead?
"What did you need?" Lizzie started, hating how small she felt. Like a child completely lost - a direct contrast of her personality in general. She blamed her already fragile emotional state.
Veronika sighed. "I wanted to... talk to you." she said. "We've not really had a chance to do so."
"Yes, well, you've been dead." Lizzie replied quietly, without any emotion.
"Yes, I know." Veronika said quickly, folding her hands in her lap to keep from fixing Lizzie's hair which was askew, the desire to hug her daughter and merely pour her heart out being repressed. "I'm sorry."
Lizzie sat up, pulling Loki's blanket around herself. "Can I ask why?"
"Why?"
"Why you pretended all this time? Bella told me that you've been watching us the entire time - but I want to know why you never... never came for us." Lizzie rattled off, sighing deeply, the once-healed wound being ripped wide open, and although there was no bitterness that she could detect, there was certainly a lot of hurt. "I always thought that... if you had been alive you would have come for us. That you would have protected us. Yet, you were, and you stayed away for...years." She paused. "Twice."
Veronika sighed, nodding. "I know." she said, laughing a little. "You know, Loki was rather angry with me for the same reason. He is rather protective of you..."
The mention of him made Lizzie smile, and the knowledge that he had be irate with the situation as much as she was was warming. "Did he change his mind?" she asked, wishing he were there that she could ask him herself of his opinion. Veronika nodded, and Lizzie's brows furrowed. "What changed?"
"I told him why I stayed away." Veronika replied. "I explained how my being near you would have only put you in more danger. That Alex has always been sensitive to my presence... he'd always kept an eye on you, and I could do more for you if I was on the outside. I could protect you better."
Lizzie blinked. "But you didn't." she said simply.
Veronika sighed and nodded. "I know, kleiner, I know."
Maria Hill's boots clicked against the slick tile floor of SHIELD HQ, the file under her arm conspicuous in its thickness. Within it, was every documentation on an old enemy thought long dead: HYDRA.
She sighed, opening the door to Director Fury's office, crossing the room in a few quick strides she approached his desk, the folder thudding on the wood beneath it when she dropped it. Fury looked up, his eye landing on the folder with a tiredness in his gaze. "What is that?"
"The file on HYDRA." Maria replied.
Nick sighed, looking up at her. "And why have you brought me the file on a dead organization when our current problem has everything to do with these new goddamn mutants and the threat posed by the intel about Thanos hiding his Chitauri forces within the populous? In addition, we also have the Council breathing down our necks because Stark and Thor just announced that Loki is about to have another trial which may exonerate him of all his crimes; which I will inform you they are not in the least pleased about, and I see a shitstorm on the horizon." he questioned, an intensity directed toward his subordinate. "So please, tell me why you think I should be involved on a ghost hunt with these rather bigger things going on in my life."
Maria sat down in the chair across from him, opening the file and pulling it toward her. "There's a possible connection with HYDRA and the mutant the Avengers took out in Alaska." she said, pulling out a few sheets of paper. "The doctors we picked up that were working on the mutants had obscured histories, but we were able to make enough connections between one of the doctors and the ghost story known as the Winter Soldier." She passed him a photograph, the salt-and-pepper-haired doctor's image taken from some kind of security feed with the date of October 2nd, 1996.
"What connection?"
"He was in Bulgaria at the same time as the assassination of Andrey Lukanov, the former prime minister by a lone gunman that was never found." Maria replied, passing another picture. "And this was taken in 1992 in Germany following the mysterious death of a politician who according to the story was killed by her husband and then he shot himself... but there was no proof of this story." Another picture was put in to his hands. "Again, in Bucharest at the same time as a journalist who was shot by a sniper who never was found, a man who apparently had a big story he was about to print regarding an organization which he never got to publish - and here he is in Vladikavkaz in the same city as the assasination of Valeriy Hubulov, the Minister of defense."
Nick eyed the pictures as he flipped them back and forth, pausing on one picture a little longer before he looked at Maria. "And you think that this ties into the Winter Soldier?" he inquired. "I thought he belonged to the SSR."
Maria squashed the happy feeling that she felt that he was interested, and reaching into the back of the file, she pulled out a piece of paper. "From what we know he did, but I'm beginning to think it's possible that the SSR isn't what we have to worry about. These doctors we picked up? There's something which I think we need to look into, they were never connected to the SSR. But they are still all connected to each other." She insisted. She felt a little foolish for her connecting an extinct organization with that of the doctors they had rounded up - but something was off, something nagged at her that there was more than what met the eye.
And though it was a stretch, somehow it made sense in her mind. Now she just needed to prove it.
"Look, Hill," Fury said as he leaned forward. "We cannot go to the Council off of theories with no proof. Now you may be onto something, but if you don't give me proof then I can't do anything about it. Now can you get me proof?"
Maria was silent for a moment, knowing that it would be difficult to get the Director what he desired. Yet, swallowing, she nodded. "I think I can, Director. Just give me a little time." she said quietly, like a child who turned in a paper late in school.
Fury merely nodded, leaning back into his chair. "You have until I wrap up this bullshit with Loki and the mutants." he said. "After that, if you don't have what I need then we're going to have to do some serious looking into into some real leads."
"Yes, Sir." Maria replied, standing up.
A smile crossed as Hill gathered up the file once more - he felt every bit like a father to the agent, and against his will he was beginning to give credit to what she was saying. It was far fetched, but maybe - just maybe - she had a point. The Winter Soldier and the coincidence of that doctor in the same place wasn't as much chance as some may have thought. It was making him just as suspicious, but red tape prevented him from ever going down such a path.
"Hill!" he called to her before she left his office, stopping her in her tracks.
"Yes sir?"
"You might want to get a team together for this little... data find." he said, toying with the pen in his hand. "Talk to Coulson and May, I feel they're the best for this kind of job."
Maria's lips twitched upwards, and he was glad to see the spark in her eyes which were a sign of her feeling very much approved of. "Yes, sir." she said, closing the door behind her as she slipped out, leaving Nick Fury to merely chuckle and shake his head.
Yes indeed. He felt like a father to the agent.
Loki turned another page with a sigh, the book he'd read a hundred years ago being refreshed in his mind in regards to the customs of Jotunheim. It was tedious in his mind to have to go through it all over again, but even worse was the recognition to the fact that he'd have to go to the place of his birth in a humiliating situation on all sides. The runted frost 'giant' who was there to make amends for nearly destroying the realm...
Oh he was thrilled.
A gentle knock on his door caught his attention, and his brows furrowed as he tried to discern who it might be. Thor was still on Midgard as he knew, Odin would have sent a guard who wouldn't be so quiet, the Warriors Three were ignoring him for the most part- which left him somewhat confused as to just who was knocking... if they had been knocking at all. He waited, not entirely interested in who was bothering him, and hoping they'd go away.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
Loki sighed and got up, muttering to himself about how getting doors was idiotic and he actually missed JARVIS for once with the AI's ability to just unlock doors if it was required. Opening the door, he blinked in surprise, eyes widening. "Sigyn." he greeted, the surprise clear in his voice.
The goddess smiled gently. "Hello Loki." She replied, her brown eyes flickering between him and the room behind him. "May I come in?"
Loki blinked again, hesitating before he moved to the side, curiosity and suspicion filling him regarding her motives for coming. His history with Sigyn was hardly simple, though while a millenia ago the legends had thought them wed - it was far more complex than the Midgardians had thought. Divorce, they assumed, was unable to be granted to them after his trickery to win her as a wife, but perhaps it was the one thing in which Loki had had a conscience about his actions. He had tricked her into wedlock, and she had conceded to the marriage like the good hearted woman she was; but after the incident where he had been tied up with the snake venom he had found a loophole with which she could be freed.
Yet, as she entered the room, he could not help the images which entered his mind. How often he had contemplated how opposite they were in both mind and body, memories of his pale hands ghosting over her darker skin as he watched the sun cast its glow about her. The Goddess of Fidelity, yet she did not deserve one such as he. She was light and he was darkness - well, for the most part. He wondered why it was that Elizabeth seemed to be different for him, perhaps it was that they were both light and darkness mingled into one.
"I can see nothing has changed in here." Sigyn commented with a light laugh. "Though this is new." Her fingers grazed the blue dress which hung up on the wardrobe, Lizzie had forgotten to put it inside on the day she left. "She's a small thing I see."
"Why are you here Sigyn?" Loki asked, taking a step forward and crossing his arms over his chest. "Did someone send you?"
A flash of hurt crossed past Sigyn's eyes, which quickly was concealed, a smile following in a move which he himself was familiar with. She had picked up his tricks, it appeared. "No one sent me, Loki." she replied softly. "Frigga informed me of what is going to happen, both with the trial and your trip to Jotunheim." There was a pause, a sign he was well acquainted with which meant she was working out what to say before she said it. One of the most admirable traits about her: she thought before she spoke. "I know that you and I have a past, and I'm well aware why you chose to end it, but I wanted you to know that..." Another pause, and Loki stepped forward in curiosity. "I am your friend, Loki. I know you're happy with your new lady, and I hope that one day I shall meet her. You and I have parted ways in the case of love, but I am still here by your side if you should want me, or need my help."
"How could you help me?" Loki inquired, his brows furrowing in confusion.
Sigyn smiled, shrugged, and shook her head. "I don't know." she said simply. "All I know is that you believe you have few friends - I know, your mother told me - and that I wished to ensure that you knew that you have someone in your corner. I may not have the power of Amora, but we both know my skill."
The Trickster blinked, his tongue darting out to wet his lips in thought as he stared at Sigyn. She was offering to help him, and once upon a time he would have seized the chance in some power-hungry desire... but now he paused. She meant it in good faith, and somehow he knew that if he dared to (not that he wanted to) try and abuse her benevolence in his benefit she would not hesitate not only to draw back her hand but to work against him. Yet, he was moved. "I don't know what you could possibly do." he said, earning yet another one of her frequent smiles.
"Neither do I, yet." she replied. "But I'm sure you will at some point. Despite your... reputation, I can attest that you are not all mischief and bad character." She stepped forward, holding back for a moment before she rested a hand on his cheek. "There is someone in there, someone I would see when you were my husband that you rarely let anyone see. It is only a pity you don't see it as others do."
Green met brown in a stare which communicated more than words. In the former: understanding; in the latter: gentle acceptance. "I'm sorry." Loki murmured. "I'm sorry I let you down. You had such faith in me."
Sigyn shook her head. "You only let yourself down, Loki... you've only ever let yourself down. I am not the only one who sees what you can be and wishes you to strive for it."
"You speak of Frigga?"
A soft laugh bubbled forth from the woman. "She is one. She worries about you you know."
"So she did send you?" He accused.
She shook her head again. "No. She wouldn't. I came because I wanted to." She drew away, looking around the room. "But I see I have interrupted your reading. That must be why you didn't answer the door when I knocked the first time."
Loki smirked. "I hate leaving a page half-finished."
"Five hundred years and you haven't changed a bit." Sigyn replied teasingly. "But I must go..."
"So soon?" Loki failed to hide the disappointment in his voice.
Sigyn's eyes brightened. "Yes. Vali is returning tonight from Alfheim..." she trailed off with a blush. Loki chuckled and raised a brow. "Stop that."
"Stop what?" Loki replied, but she merely waggled her finger at him and headed for the door. "So you and Vali?"
"He's nicer than you." She teased as she twisted the handle.
"Nonsense, no one is nicer than me." Loki replied, reaching for her hand which was free. "You can tell that child I said so - but you just arrived, surely you can stay a little longer."
Sigyn's eyes closed and she shook her head again. "As much as I would like to, I cannot." and with that, she slipped her hand from his and departed.
Loki sighed, shutting the door behind her and turning into the room once more - his eyes caught a package which was now settled upon the vanity, and he approached it, peeling off its cover. Within it lie an amulet of jade, the stone familiar in the warmth of its magic.
I am still here by your side if you should want me, or need my help...
*Heavy breathing* Okay guys.. how was that? I'm sorry if its at all awkward, like I said I'm getting a little rusty.