Despite the complexity of the situation, Sigyn managed to tell David everything before he finished his drink. Sensing the two roommates needed privacy, Loki excused himself. Neither Sigyn nor David noticed that Loki merely exited the room, but failed to move out of earshot. Kissing Sigyn was soul-affirming and life-altering, but he was no idiot. He knew better than to lose his head over a woman. Watching the two converse on the couch, Loki began to take stock of his options.

Sigyn leaned back against the cushions once she had finished speaking. David ran his finger over his lower lip as he processed everything. This gave Sigyn time to truly look at her best friend. Due to early male pattern hair loss, David shaved his head on a regular occasion. Oddly enough, the bald head look suited him better. It also made him look tougher. There was nothing to distract from his large build, ebony skin, and piercing nearly black eyes. Despite his rough exterior, David was one of the most caring men that Sigyn had the privilege of knowing. They had met when David protected her from a rather persistent neighborhood bully when Sigyn was 17. Six months later, when she turned 18, David immediately offered his home as a place to live until she got on her feet. Over seven years later, they were still roommates and best friends. They made it through evictions, David coming out to his parents, and countless fruitless searches for Sigyn's parents. Sigyn knew David better than she knew herself and vice versa. Now, within two days, she is now a relative stranger. She had no idea how he was going to react to all of this.

The longer she waited, though, the more convinced she was that David perceived Sigyn's problem as quite dire.

Rubbing his hands together, David tried to avoid Sigyn's eyes. "So you're not a human."

Sigyn shook her head.

"You're a Valkyrie."

"Yes. Well, half Valkyrie and half Witch."

"Does it even work like that? Is a Witch even a breed or is it the presence of powers?"

Sigyn shrugged. "I'm not sure."

"But you've agreed to some Prince of another world, your alleged home planet…"

"Realm."

"…whatever, that you would go back with him to help guard his imprisoned brother. The same man whose father entered into a contract with your mother to give permission for the two of you to get married. The same man who has escaped this otherworldly prison, broke you out of some government facility, and almost killed me for walking into my own apartment."

"So far, you are correct, sir."

"And this place that you have just left wants you to just straight up kill the dude."

"Pretty much."

David sighed. "And what are you going to do?"

"I have no idea. Fury's made it obvious that he wants be back on Asgard. Thor wants me to learn about what I am and my lineage. Bruce and Natasha want me to stay. And I don't know if Loki wants to fuck me, marry me, or kill me." Sigyn buried her face into her favorite napping pillow and inhaled the scent of jasmine. David must have been burning incense. "I've never had so many people expecting so much from me."

David pulled the pillow out of her hands. "What do you want?"

Sigyn looked up at him, a look of confusion on her face. "How the fuck should I know? Two days ago, I was just another New York bartender. Jesus, my biggest problem was how many more shifts I needed to work to make rent and afford the tattoo I wanted. Now I have three different parties who want three very different things from me and none of them are above killing me if I don't comply."

"Do you want to go back to the way things were?"

Thinking for a moment, Sigyn eventually shook her head. "Too much has happened for me to go back. There are too many unanswered questions about my family that I am dying to have answered."

"Interesting choice of words." David dodged as Sigyn threw a pillow at his head. "Classy."

"David, I'm serious. This means that I'm moving out. And not just down the block, I have to leave the fucking realm."

"Well, as much as I would miss you, that does seem like a decision that will get everyone off your back." David's eyes gazed out the window, a typical sign that he was trying to verbalize his thoughts appropriately. "You will find out about who your family is and who you were meant to be. I think you need to just find out how to get what you want and damn whoever gets uppity."

Before Sigyn could retort, David held up a hand. "No matter what you choose, you will have an ally. Also, you have no idea how strong you are. For all we know, you could be able to take all of the S.H.I.E.L.D agents and blondilocks and the dark psycho without breaking a sweat."

"So it's just that easy. Do what I want because it'll work out in the end?" Sigyn could not keep the disbelief out of her voice.

David cocked his head to the side. "Have you ever made a major decision based solely off what you wanted?"

Sigyn scoffed. "Hi, have we met? Of course not, not a life-changing one like this."

"Than what better time to start? But first things first, what are you going to do with your alleged beloved?"

Sigyn looked down the hall where Loki had disappeared. "Shit."

Loki saw this as a very blatant hint that he needed to get out of earshot to make sure that Sigyn was none the wiser of his eavesdropping. He quickly retreated into bedroom and flopped onto the bed. Even though he did not exert much energy, his heart was racing as fast as his brain. Sigyn did not know which side she was going to align on and that insipid friend of hers insisted that she act selfishly instead. Loki groaned at the tightening in his stomach. Did she not realize what Loki would have to face now that he broke out of his prison? Since the moment he was thrust into that unholy room, Loki had been planning his escape. Once he was freed, Loki planned to travel to a safer realm and slowly build up his power and army. When Sigyn first arrived, Loki assumed that he would either bring her with as his bride or kill her. But then she was ripped away because of that mad experiment, her face was so full of pain and fear that Loki acted almost instinctually to save her.

That just shot his plans to hell.

It became clear that Loki needed to either cement his bond with Sigyn or kill her. Simply breaking what they had at the moment would only hurt her. Though she had yet to discover her full strength, Loki knew that if she set her sights on destroying him, she would succeed. Loki would highly prefer to avoid such a large amount of pain. A slight rustling sound at the door roused Loki out of his thoughts. Sigyn leaned against the doorjamb, watching him. Loki did not say anything. He just gazed back. Her hair was still wild as if she forgot to tame it after she left the shower. Her face was relaxed, but alert as was the rest of her body. Her eyes, usually green, would flash silver. As the knot in Loki's stomach tightened he wondered if she even knew how alluring she was now that her Valkyrie side had taken over. What of the Witch in her? How will that be incorporated into her life? Neither said a word for a long moment.

"Are you going to kill me?" Sigyn's voice was too quiet.

Loki raised his eyebrow. "Unless I am mistaken, I would say that you have some telekinetic abilities."

Sigyn crossed the room and perched at the foot of her bed. "Answer the question, Loki. Are you going to kill me?"

Loki moved to curl around Sigyn's back. Idly, he ran his finger along the waistband of her jeans. He pressed his cheek against her spine. "I might have to."

Sigyn closed her eyes. His answer was both revealing and frustratingly obscure. "So there is no chance of a peace treaty between the two of us?"

She felt his hand still. "Is that what you want?" His voice was icy and distant. "You want me to just trust that you would not align with Thor to plan my demise? I bet you believe that we could even be friends, don't you?"

The way he spat out the word 'friends' as if it was a poison set Sigyn on edge. "There has to be a way me to return to Asgard without having to worry about either you or Fury ready to chop my head off."

Loki shot off the bed and began to pace the room. "You really are quite simple still, aren't you? Because of you, I now have two realms after me." His voice was low but menacing.

He stopped and walked back to Sigyn, leaning over and bracing his hands on her knees, his face was mere inches from his. "You will either die at my hands or you will be my bride, which is a fate worse than death."

Much to his surprise, Sigyn did not flinch. Rather, she lifted her hand and placed it on his face. Caressing his cheekbone with her thumb, Sigyn looked at Loki with compassion, one emotion that the Asgardian Prince was as unfamiliar with as the unfurling warmth in his chest. "Would it truly be that horrible, us being together? Everyone deserves a family, Loki, even you. Especially you."

Loki's smile was cold. "I prefer to be alone."

Sigyn's moving thumb faltered, but did not completely stop. "No you don't. I've spent a large chunk of my life alone, remember? I said the exact same words that you did, so I know better. You're trying to push me away because you cannot imagine how I would stick around."

Loki closed his eyes. "How could you possibly want this life? You will be as much of a fugitive as I. There will be no comfort, no castle, and no chance of a family outside of us. Not now, maybe not ever."

"Pretty sure I am used to going without the finer things in life."

Before Loki could reply, a voice rang out from the doorway. "Be still my heart. Looks like we have some true love blooming. Too bad that you have just compromised our newest weapon"

Fury.

A/N: Now, I don't want to tell you what to do with your life, but the more reviews I get, the faster I am able to crank these chapters out. Just saying. Now have the best day of your life.