Two days pass. Snow flies back to Charleston, and spends the second day planning what her next steps would be. Packing procedures. The company. Linda.
But one thing at a time. Linda had to know.
Having been with Snow for years, the White was used to telling her everything. That included the events of New York, and Loki.
Though she left out most details, Linda had a good picture to read.
Still, breaking the news to her wasn't going to be easy, Snow would have to be careful with her words.
She invited Linda over for lunch at their favorite hotspot diner, Pies and Pints. While the forty year-old happily munched down a plate of White Pie, Snow enjoyed a Garden Grinder as she listened to Linda complain about her husband and explain how Lizzy, her daughter, a tough little nugget, got into trouble with school again.
During the time of Linda's distraction with her own words, Snow had been up and down, thinking of how to go about this. And when the food was down, and drinks were served, Snow started to explain the situation.
"Linda, there's something I have to tell you," she starts, honestly wanting this over with.
"Sure. What's up?"
"You remember everything I told you…about what happened in New York," she says.
Immediately, Linda frowns. It was quite the story, blasted the news stations, almost gave her a heart-attack, and was enthralling to listen to, all at once.
Still, her girl's life had been at risk. That was the main deal.
"Remember Thor, and Loki?" she resumes. Linda nods, a smirk growing.
"But of course I remember. How in the world can I forget?!" she exclaims. Snow is unable to find it in her to laugh. She wasn't exactly bearing great news.
"Right. Well. Something's happened…and…Thor's bringing Loki to earth."
A look of mischievous realization falls upon Linda. She cocks a curious eyebrow, humming thoughtfully. Knowing Snow so well, she was smart enough to recall how oddly Snow acted when speaking of one of those two in specific.
"And?" Linda pushes. Snow is wary of her reaction, uncertain what to make of it. She resumes anyways.
"And he's bringing him to Tony, and I, in New York," she says. Linda stays her silence, processing. A whole minute passes as Snow waits somewhat impatiently for Linda to comprehend the situation. "I'm moving to New York," she pushes.
Linda's eyes widen. Snow physically winces at her growing-to-wrathful reaction.
It certainly didn't happen smoothly, but eventually, reluctantly, Linda accepted what was to happen.
They spent the remaining days readying the company, packing, and saying their temporary goodbyes, as well as planning when next to meet, and how Linda would hold down the office, like she usually did.
Until alas,
the time had come.
XXXXX
Moving in was easier than Snow had expected, thanks to Tony of course.
She'd arrived at New York on the morning of the day of Loki's arrival, still dated to sunset. Tony showed her to her room, which was as enormous as it was breath-taking.
He'd decorated it himself, and boy did he have good taste. Though holding onto being madly expensive, the room gave in to a sense of hominess, a certain warmth to put the White at ease, fully furnished with a cozy-looking bed, a small sitting-area at the side, a flat-screen tv, a walk-closet, a work-area, and a huge bathroom.
After settling in, Tony showed her where Loki would be staying. It too, was grand, but not as bright, or warm as hers. He did however take the liberty of adding some very antique decorations, jokingly-assuming Loki would enjoy them.
It was almost time. The two were seated on the top floor's living room, small-talking, where Thor was sure to land just out on the terrace that they could see through the huge glass windows.
"What?" he asks, noting her subconscious frown. She looks up at him from the adjacent couch.
"Just. Anxious," she replies, smiling dismissively. Tony leans forward, trying to seem subtle.
"Anxious to see him?" he asks.
"Anxious to see his reaction," she corrects.
"How do you mean?"
"I just, don't think he's gonna make it easy for us…to help."
"Well, that's his loose."
"Tony."
"No. Really. We're the ones switching up our lives for him, if he can't see that-"
"It's not that he won't see it, it's just…He's been through a lot. Adjusting isn't something he can suddenly do, you know."
"…Okay. What do you think we should do?"
"Just…Go easy on him," she requests softly.
Though the amount of care she held for the God of Mischief was irritating, Tony went along, for her, and his sanity's sake.
If they were all going to be living together, he shouldn't make it rough. Easy-going sounded like a plan.
"Yes, go easy, till he stabs you in the back," a voice utters. They turn to see Nick, standing lonesome at the elevator. Tony groans loudly.
"How do you keep doing that?!" he exclaims. Nick doesn't reply as he walks over to them, and they stand. "What are you doing here, Nick?" Tony asks, crossing his arms in annoyance.
"I thought I could visit whenever I want," he tells. Tony clenches his jaw irritably.
Then, a vigorous roar of thunder sounds through the sky. They all turn to the window, witnessing as he landed from the sky in a shimmer of bright colors.
And when the dust settled, there they were.
XXXXX
Nick, Snow, and Tony flocked out to meet them.
And when outside,
and when his eyes locked with hers,
her heart raced madly,
and thoughts blurred away.
She couldn't look away,
and was barley aware of her own feet, that carried her through and stopped when the Stark did.
Thor smiles. "Snow. Stark," he greets. Then turns to Nick. His face falls slightly, not expecting him. "Fury," he lets out reluctantly, causing Tony to smirk.
"Well, this should be good," the Stark says, resting his hands in his pockets.
Loki and Snow exchange glances every few seconds, her at loss for words, him at loss of thoughts.
It took time for him to realize that Thor's claim was true, that he was not to be executed, but sent to earth. It took even longer to accept that it was her who'd freed him, confusing him for days to come, due to a lack of reason behind her peculiar course of actions.
Why?
Why was she helping him?
Why was anyone helping him?
He didn't deserve it. None of it.
And it was that sole belief, that had him wondering, even till that very moment, if it truly was all real.
Was it?
Nick steps forward heavily, re-attracting lost attention to himself as he approached the silent, armored God of Mischief, halting a foot away.
Nick glares coldly at him, and he remains unfazed. "You're on my planet. My territory. One wrong move, and you'll be spending the rest of your life, wishing they'd cut your head off from the start," he spat.
The others are wary of Loki's reaction, but are surprised when he stays his grim silence. Tony steps in. "Okay, Gandalf. We can take it from here," he tells firmly, hinting at him to take his leave.
Nick ignores him and turns to Snow. "He slips. It's on you," he tells before walking off.
Snow gulps nervously, uncertain who was more pressuring, Nick, or Loki.
Tony eyes her sympathetically, as does Thor. Loki simply observes her in denial.
Thor notes that things have been set in motion as should be. He speaks. "I'm afraid I must take my leave. Asgard is restless, and requires my presence," he tells. Snow nods at him in assurance. Tony grins.
He steps up next to Thor, pats his back as he eyes him curiously. "Go forth, dragon-slayer! Bring us glory!" he exclaims, causing Thor and Snow to smirk in amusement, and Loki to furrow his eyebrows at him as if going 'for real?'.
Thor then turns to Loki. He places a firm hand on his shoulder, smiling softly as Loki cocked an eyebrow at him. "I'll be back to see you soon, brother," he tells. Loki's heart clenches in involuntary concern, as if,
deep,
deep down,
he wanted his sibling to stay.
"Yes, we'll take good care of him. Bu-bye now!" Tony waves. Thor steps back, swings his hammer, and takes off, preferring to call Heimdall from a further distance.
Tony and Snow share a 'get ready' look as Loki stares in daze at a spot on the ground, wincing when the Stark claps his hands together. Snow notes it.
"Right! This way, ladies and gentlemen," he says, walking into the building. Loki roots in spot. He turns to Snow, as if for permission. She notes his hesitance, and flashes him an assuring smile, following Tony, her smile growing when he followed her down.
Tony walks towards the elevator. "Hey, Reindeer Games," he looks at Loki behind his back. "Ever been in an elevator? Hope it isn't…weird, or anything," he says, entering it.
Snow and Loki follow in wordlessly. When the mechanism moves, Tony snaps to Loki, eyeing curiously for his reaction, only to find it plain. Loki notes he's staring, and cocks him an irritated eyebrow as Snow watches from the side, surprisingly amused.
"No? Nothing?" Tony asks him. Loki ignores him and looks onward. Snow studies him carefully, attempting to read his current state. "Okaaay then," Tony says awkwardly.
Reaching the required floor, the elevator halts gracefully, beeping softly as its metal doors parted, letting into an awfully similar, modern floor.
"This way." Tony leads them to a hallway with many doors. Snow recalls it was where her bedroom was, and Loki's, and probably Tony's.
Tony stops across Loki's door, opens it, and enters, gesturing about with his arms spread proudly.
Loki eyes around warily, disliking everything, not because it looked bad.
Loki was on foreign territory. Usually, he'd enjoy the exploration,
but
he hadn't been home in so long,
he'd forgotten what it felt like,
and this was no different.
The knowledge of thinking he'd never be at ease sunk his scarred heart further, and he felt something he'd been feeling a lot of lately,
self-pity.
"Okay. So. This is where you'll be staying. Now, the rest of the tour-" Tony turns, and halts his words when Snow shakes her head at him softly as Loki eyed around. "Or. You know. We could, later," he starts instead, headed back to the door. He gently pushes Snow out with him, speaking in whispers.
Yet, Loki could still hear them, and he listened intently.
Tony takes a moment to think. "I'm gonna be down in the lab. If you need anything…If he does anything-"
"Tony. I'll be fine," she tells firmly, smiling for emphasize. She saw reluctance in his eyes, before he sighed tiredly, nodding as he pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Okay. Just be careful," he tells seriously. She nods once more, and he takes his leave.
It was not strange for Loki to be feared, the vice was odd, and she was fairly a mystery to him.
Snow walks back into the room to find that Loki had stationed across the window, eyeing the busy streets, sadness dancing across his eyes.
She takes cautious steps towards him.
"Why?"
he suddenly spoke.
His voice caught her off guard. She froze momentarily, then resumed approaching him, regaining her posture. "Why what?" she retorts.
He turns, locking ice-blue eyes with hers, causing her heart to hammer involuntarily. "Why did you come to Asgard?" he asked as if in disappointment.
Her thoughts raced at the question that never seemed to hold a straight answer. She crossed her arms as if defensively before saying: "Because your brother asked me to."
He cocked a disbelieving eyebrow. "So you turned your whole life around, because my brother asked you to?" he asked in semi-mock. She tensed.
Never a good answer.
"Would you rather I have left you?" she said instead.
His gaze faltered, turning away wordlessly.
She was dodging. He could tell that much.
Snow gulped nervously. This was harder than she'd reckoned it to be.
"I'm, uh, gonna let you get some rest," she told, heading to walk back as he focused his gaze out the window, hands clasped behind his back.
She stops near his closet, recalling something important. Snow slides it open and he turns at the noise. It was empty inside, aside from the two outfits she'd bought him herself.
She pulled out a black, plain, sleeved, cotton shirt, and turned to him, holding it up. He eyed her in confusion as she approached him, her concentration set on the cloth as she exchanged glances between it and his form, giving a content nod.
"It should do for now, in case you wanna get out of that armor," she smiled softly, causing his heart to clench as if in confusion. She noted his expression and pursed her lips, folding the cloth and tossing it onto the bed, turning her attention to him.
"Look. I know…all of this is…too much," she started, gaining his undivided attention,
her few,
simple
words,
almost painful
because of how physically painless they were.
"But, soon enough, you'll come to realize it for what it really is…
a second chance."
Loki listens to her heartedly, wanting badly to believe her,
yet,
unable to.
"And all I ask of you then, is to appreciate it," she last said.
Loki stayed his silence,
but change was evident in his once hardened features, satisfying her purpose.
She walked back to the door, turning to glance at him one more time. "I'll be down the hall if you need anything," she told just before heading out and closing the door behind,
leaving Loki to think her words over,
as she wished he would.
XXXXX
In her room, Snow retired to unpacking the rest of her boxes. It was already night, and she'd flied in just that morning. Safe to say, she was jet-lagged.
An hour or so later, Tony came in to check up on her. He gave a soft knock on the already-open door.
Her heart jumps. She turns, and relaxes upon seeing it was just Tony, leaning on the arch, arms folded, the usual smirk plastered on his face. "Hey," he calls. She flashes him a quick smile, turning back to the box's contents.
"Hey," she retorts.
"So, how'd it go?"
"…With Loki…"
"Oh. Um. Well, I guess."
"Did he say anything?"
"Uh, yeah," she replies, halting her actions and turning to the Stark, who'd strolled to the turtle on her desk, seriously. She folded her arms uncomfortably. "He asked me why I…agreed to help him," she explains.
Tony studies her carefully, not entirely sure why that was upsetting her. His concern was quickly replaced by curiosity, wanting to see exactly where her and the God of Mischief stood.
"Annnd…what did you say?" he asked subtly.
"I told him, because his brother asked me to," she answered, rubbing at an invisible spot on the desk with her thumb.
Tony hummed doubtfully, but left it at that.
The White yawned, covering her mouth with her hand. "Call it a night?" he asks, amused. She smiles, nodding.
"You?"
"Uhh. Yeah. In a bit," he replied uncertainly.
Him?
Sleep?
Right.
"Night, princess," he told, walking back to the door.
"Night, Tony."
Before heading to sleep, Snow shadowed her way outside Loki's room, using her senses to insure he was still inside without disturbing him, before retiring to her room once more.
XXXXXXXXXX